# Bruce David Phillips v. City of Los Angeles

> District Court, C.D. California · January 4, 2022

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9978791

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** January 4, 2022
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 BRUCE DAVID PHILLIPS, CASE NO. CV21-00363-GW-DFM
an individual; Hon. Judge George H. Wu, Ctrm. 9D; 9th Fl.
12 Mag. Douglas F. McCormick, Ctrm. 6B; 6th Fl.
PLAINTIFF,
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14 [XPRXOXXPOXSXEXDX] STIPULATED
PROTECTIVE ORDER
15 CITY OF LOS ANGELES, a municipal
entity; OFFICER LEAR a Los Angeles
16 Police Officer; and DOES 1 through 15,
inclusive
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18 DEFENDANTS
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ORDER ON STIPULATION
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The Court, finding good cause, Orders as follows:
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1. INTRODUCTION
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1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary,
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or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use
1 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly,
2 the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated
3 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket
4 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords
5 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are
6 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties
7 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective
8 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule
9 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied
10 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
11 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 This action involves the City of Los Angeles and members of the Los Angeles
13 Police Department. Plaintiff is seeking materials that Defendant the City of Los Angeles
14 et al. (“City”) maintains as confidential, such as video recordings, audio recordings, and
15 other administrative materials and information currently in the possession of the City and
which the City believes need special protection from public disclosure and from use for
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any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation.
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The City asserts that the confidentiality of the materials sought by Plaintiff is
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recognized by California and federal law, as evidenced inter alia by California Penal
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Code section 832.7 and Kerr v. United States Dist. Ct. for N.D. Cal., 511 F.2d 192, 198
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(9th Cir. 1975), aff'd, 426 U.S. 394 (1976). The City has not publicly released the
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materials and information referenced above except under protective order or pursuant to
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a court order, if at all. These materials and information are of the type that has been used
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to initiate disciplinary action against Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”) officers,
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and has been used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings, where the officers’ conduct
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was considered to be contrary to LAPD policy.
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The City contends that absent a protective order delineating the responsibilities of
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nondisclosure on the part of the parties hereto, there is a specific risk of unnecessary and
1 undue disclosure by one or more of the parties or an agent of the parties in this case, as
2 well as the corollary risk of embarrassment, harassment and professional and legal harm
3 on the part of the LAPD officers referenced in the materials and information.
4 The City also contends that the unfettered disclosure of the materials and
information, absent a protective order, would allow the media to share this information
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with potential jurors in the area, impacting the rights of the City herein to receive a fair
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trial.
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Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution
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of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information
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the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
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reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial,
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to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a
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protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the
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parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that
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nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a
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confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the
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public record of this case.
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2. DEFINITIONS
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2.1 Action: This pending federal law suit, Bruce David Phillips. v. City of Los
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Angeles, et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-00363-GW-DFM.
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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
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it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause
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Statement.
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2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
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support staff).
1 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
4 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among
5 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated
6 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
7 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
8 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
9 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
10 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
11 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
12 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
13 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
14 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to
15 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
16 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has
17 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
18 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
19 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
20 support staffs).
21 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
22 Discovery Material in this Action.
23 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
24 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
25 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
26 their employees and subcontractors.
27 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated
1 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
2 from a Producing Party.
3 3. SCOPE
4 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
5 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
6 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
7 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their
8 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
9 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial
10 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
11 4. DURATION
12 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
13 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will be
14 presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
15 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made
16 to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu,
17 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for
18 sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when
19 merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this
20 protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
21 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each
23 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order
24 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the
25 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those
26 parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so
27 that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which
1 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are
2 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
3 unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary
4 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
5 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
6 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
7 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
8 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
9 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or
10 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order
11 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
12 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
13 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but
14 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
15 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
16 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
17 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
18 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
19 in the margins).
20 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need
21 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which
22 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the
23 designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be deemed
24 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
25 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
26 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
27 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page
1 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
2 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
3 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
4 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
5 protected testimony.
6 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
7 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior
8 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
9 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
10 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
11 portion(s).
12 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
14 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon
15 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to
16 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
17 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
18 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
20 Order.
21 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute resolution
22 process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
23 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on the
24 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
25 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
26 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn
27 the confidentiality designation, all parties will continue to afford the material in question
1 until the Court rules on the challenge.
2 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
4 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action
5 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected
6 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions
7 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must
8 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
9 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and
10 in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this
11 Order.
12 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
13 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party
14 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
15 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as
16 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
17 disclose the information for this Action;
18 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
19 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
20 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure
21 is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
22 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
23 (d) the Court and its personnel;
24 (e) court reporters and their staff;
25 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors
26 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
1 or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
2 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action
3 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests
4 that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be
5 permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment
6 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating
7 Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to
8 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter
9 and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective
10 Order; and
11 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually
12 agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
13 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
14 IN OTHER LITIGATION
15 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
16 disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,”
17 that Party must:
18 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification will
19 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
20 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue
21 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order
22 is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include a copy of this Stipulated
23 Protective Order; and
24 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by
25 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
26 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
27 subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this action as
1 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
2 Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
3 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
4 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive
5 from another court.
6 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
7 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
8 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party
9 in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by
10 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
11 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting
12 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
13 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce
14 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an
15 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information,
16 then the Party will:
17 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some
18 or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-
19 Party;
20 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order
21 in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of
22 the information requested; and
23 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party, if
24 requested.
25 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days
26 of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce
27 the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the
1 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement
2 with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the
3 contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this
4 court of its Protected Material.
5 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
6 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
7 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
8 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing
9 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve
10 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to
11 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request
12 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
13 that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
14 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
15 PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
17 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the
18 obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
19 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be
20 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege
21 review.
22 12. MISCELLANEOUS
23 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
24 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
25 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
26 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
27 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
1 to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
2 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
3 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
4 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
5 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is
6 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
7 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
8 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
9 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days
10 of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all
11 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
12 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
13 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
14 Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must
15 submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or
16 entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category,
17 where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2)
18 affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,
19 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
20 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all
21 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
22 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and
23 consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material.
24 Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to
25 this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
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1 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal
2 |}contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary
3 || authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
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IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH PLAINTIFF AND DEFENDANTS’
6 || COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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8 || Dated: September , 2021
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10 By:
11 Bruce David Phillips, Plaintiff
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Dated: September , 2021 MICHAEL N. FEUER, City Attorney
14 KATHLEEN A. KENEALY, Chief Deputy City Atty
15 SCOTT MARCUS, Senior Assistant City Attorney
CORY M. BRENTE, Senior Assistant City Attorney
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By:
17 MATTHEW W. McALEER, Deputy City Attorney
18 Attorneys for Defendants, CITY OF LOS ANGELES
and OFFICER LEAR
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3 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: January 4, 2022
23 Hon. Douglas F. McCormick
54 United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _____________________
5 __________________________________________ [full address], declare under
6 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated
7 Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central
8 District of California on _____________________ [date] in the case of Bruce David
9 Phillips. v. City of Los Angeles, et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-00363-GW-DFM. I agree to
10 comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I
11 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and
12 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any
13 manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
14 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for
16 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
18 termination of this action.
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20 Date: ______________________________________
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22 City and State where signed: _________________________________
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24 Printed name: _______________________________
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26 Signature: __________________________________

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9978791. Public record. Not legal advice.