# Sanchez Gallegos v. County of Los Angeles

> District Court, C.D. California · February 14, 2023

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9982442

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** February 14, 2023
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

Case 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 1 of 15 Page ID #:156

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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12 GLORIA SANCHEZ GALLEGOS,
Case No. 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO
13 Individually and as successor in
Interest to AGUSTIN FLORES
14 SANCHEZ STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER1
15 Plaintiff,
16 v.

17 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, a
municipal entity; JASEN TAPIA, an
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Individual; RAYMOND ROMERO
SOTO, an Individual; TIMOTHY
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GARCIA, an Individual; JULIO
CHAVEZ RUIZ, an Individual ; and
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DOES 1 through 10, Inclusive.
21 Defendant.

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1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective
order provided under Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver’s Procedures.
Case 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 2 of 15 Page ID #:157

1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
5 be warranted. Accordingly, Plaintiff and the County of Los Angeles petition the
6 Court to enter the following Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
7 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
8 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
9 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
10 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in
11 Section 13.3, below, that this Protective Order does not entitle them to file
12 confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures
13 that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks
14 permission from the court to file material under seal. Discovery in this action is
15 likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for
16 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other
17 than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
18 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
19 Good cause exists for entry of this order as Plaintiff is seeking and Defendant
20 may produce, among other things, internal, security sensitive, third party and law
21 enforcement private and confidential information, administrative and institutional
22 documents, which contain sensitive information that the County of Los Angeles
23 believes need special protection from public disclosure.
24 The documents identified in this Protective Order, which Defendant believes
25 in good faith constitute or embody confidential information which the County of
26 Los Angeles maintains as strictly confidential and are otherwise generally
27 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
28 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common
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Case 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 3 of 15 Page ID #:158

1 law, are therefore entitled to heightened protection from disclosure. Accordingly, to
2 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
3 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties
4 are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable
5 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to
6 address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a
7 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the
8 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons
9 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been
10 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it
11 should not be part of the public record of this case.
12 2. DEFINITIONS
13 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit.
14 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
15 designation of information or items under this Order.
16 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
17 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
18 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
19 the Good Cause Statement.
20 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
21 their support staff), including Plaintiff Pro Per.
22 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
25 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
26 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
27 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
28 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
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1 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
2 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
3 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
4 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
5 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
6 counsel.
7 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
8 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
9 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
10 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
11 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
12 which has appeared on behalf of that party and includes support staff.
13 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
14 board, departments, divisions, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside
15 Counsel of Record (and their support staff).
16 2.12 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
17 Discovery Material in this Action.
18 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
19 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
20 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
21 and their employees and subcontractors.
22 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
23 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
24 2.15 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
25 Material from a Producing Party.
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Case 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 5 of 15 Page ID #:160

1 3. SCOPE
2 The protections conferred by this Proposed Protective Order and Order cover
3 not only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied
4 or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
6 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
7 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
8 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
9 4. DURATION
10 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
11 confidential or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order becomes public and
12 presumptively will be available to all members of the public, including the press,
13 unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed
14 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City
15 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing
16 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from
17 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court
18 record). Accordingly, the terms of this Protective Order do not extend beyond the
19 commencement of the trial.
20 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
22 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection
23 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material
24 that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must
25 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or
26 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material,
27 documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not
28 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
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1 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
2 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
3 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
4 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
5 Party to sanctions.
6 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
7 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
8 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
9 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
10 produced.
11 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
12 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
13 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
14 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
15 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
16 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
17 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
18 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
19 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
20 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
21 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
22 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
23 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
24 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
25 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before
26 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
27 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a
28 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
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1 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
2 markings in the margins).
3 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies
4 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
5 deposition all protected testimony.
6 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
7 for any other tangible items, that, at a minimum, the Producing Party affix in a
8 prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the
9 information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of
10 the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,
11 shall identify the protected 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
14 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
15 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
16 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
17 Order.
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19 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
20 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
21 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
22 Scheduling Order.
23 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
24 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
25 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
26 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
27 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
28 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
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Case 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 8 of 15 Page ID #:163

1 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
2 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
3 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
4 challenge.
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6 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
8 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
9 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
10 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
11 conditions described in this Order. When the Action reaches a final disposition, a
12 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
13 DISPOSITION).
14 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
15 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
16 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order.
17 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
18 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
19 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
20 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
21 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
22 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
23 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
24 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
25 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
26 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
27 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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1 (d) the court and its personnel;
2 (e) court reporters and their staff;
3 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
4 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
5 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
6 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
7 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
8 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
9 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
10 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
11 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
13 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
14 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
15 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
16 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
17 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
18 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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20 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
21 IN OTHER LITIGATION
22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
23 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
26 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
27 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
28 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
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1 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include
2 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
4 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
6 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
7 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
8 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
9 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
10 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
11 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
12 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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14 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
16 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
17 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
18 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
19 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
20 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
21 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
22 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
23 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
24 confidential information, then the Party shall:
25 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
26 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
27 agreement with a Non-Party;
28 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
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Case 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 11 of 15 Page ID #:166

1 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
2 specific description of the information requested; and
3 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
4 Non-Party, if requested.
5 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
6 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
7 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
8 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
9 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
10 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
11 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
12 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
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14 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
15 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
16 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
17 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
18 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
19 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
20 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
21 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
22 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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24 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
25 PROTECTED MATERIAL
26 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
27 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
28 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
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1 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
2 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
3 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
4 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
5 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
6 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
7 protective order submitted to the court.
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9 12. MISCELLANEOUS
10 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
11 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
12 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
13 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
14 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
15 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
16 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
17 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
18 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
19 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
20 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
21 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
22 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
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24 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
25 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
26 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
27 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
28 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
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1 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
2 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
3 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
4 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
5 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
6 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
7 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
8 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
9 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
10 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
11 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
12 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
13 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
14 Section 4 (DURATION).
15 //
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28 //
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Case 2123-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 14o0f15 Page ID #:169

1 || 14. VIOLATION
2 || Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,
3 || without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
5 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
6 || DATED: February 13, 2023
7 || 4s/ Christian Contreras
Attorneys for Plaintiff
DATED: February 13, 2023
/s/ Lenore Kelly
11 || Attorneys for Defendant
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14 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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16 || DATED: February 14, 2023
7] Raphis a.

19 |] United States Magistrate Judge
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Case 2:23-cv-00112-ODW-RAO Document 14 Filed 02/14/23 Page 15 of 15 Page ID #:170

1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
5 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
8 on [date] in the case of ___________ [insert formal name of the case and the
9 number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be
10 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
11 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment
12 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner
13 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 the
16 Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective
17 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
18 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
19 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and
20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
22 Order.
23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27
28 Signature: __________________________________
15

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9982442. Public record. Not legal advice.