peace officers have constitutionally-based “privacy rights 18 |] [that] are not inconsequential” in their police personnel records
How later courts described this case
- peace officers have constitutionally-based “privacy rights 18 |] [that] are not inconsequential” in their police personnel records
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 || Eugene P. Ramirez (State Bar No. 134865)
cugene. ramirez @manningkass.com
2 || Kayleigh Andersen (State Bar No. 306442)
Kayleigh andersen@manningkass.com
3 || MANNING & KASS
ELLROD, RAMIREZ, TRESTER LLP
4||/801 S. Figueroa St, 15" Floor
Los Angeles, California 90017-3012
5 || Telephone: (213) 624-6900
Facsimile: (213) 624-6999
6
Attorneys for Defendants, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO and SHERIFF
7 || SHANNON DICUS
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, EASTERN DIVISION
n 10
2 11 LOUIE SORIA, individually and as Case No. 5:22-CV-01958-JGB-KK
successor-in-interest as father of
— 12 || Decedent Isaac Soria, MARIA SORIA, [The Hon. Jesus G. Bernal; The Hon.
© individually and as successor-in-interest | Kenly Kiya Kato]
z 13 |} as mother of Decedent Isaac Soria
S$ 14 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
<x ORDER RE CONFIDENTIAL
= 15 v. DOCUMENTS
COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO,
SHERIFF SHANNON DICUS, and Complaint Filed: 11/04/2022
17 || DOES 1-10, inclusive FAC) Filed: 03/02/2023
18 Defendant.
19
20 || TO THE HONORABLE COURT:
21 By and through their counsel of record in this action, plaintiffs LOUIE SORIA,
22 individually and as successor-in-interest as father of Decedent Isaac Soria, MARIA
23 || SORIA, individually and as successor-in-interest as mother of Decedent Isaac Soria
24 || (‘Plaintiffs’) and defendants COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO and SHERIFF
25 || SHANNON DICUS (“Defendants”) — the parties — hereby stipulate for the purpose
26 || of jointly requesting that the honorable Court enter a protective order re confidential
27 ||documents in this matter [and pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2, 7, and 26; and any
28 || applicable Orders of the Court] — as follows:
1 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2|}1. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT.
3}/1.1. Contentions re Harm from Disclosure of Confidential Materials.
4 Defendants contend that there is good cause and a particularized need for a
5 || protective order to preserve the interests of confidentiality and privacy in peace officer
6 personnel file records and associated investigative or confidential records for the
7 || following reasons.
8 First, Defendants contend that peace officers have a federal privilege of privacy
9 ||in their personnel file records: a reasonable expectation of privacy therein that is
”n 10 || underscored, specified, and arguably heightened by the Pitchess protective procedure
2 11 || of California law. See Sanchez v. Santa Ana Police Dept., 936 F.2d 1027, 1033-1034
12 || (9th Cir. 1990); Hallon v. City of Stockton, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14665, *2-3, 12-
13 |} 13 (E.D. Cal. 2012) (concluding that “while “[f]ederal law applies to privilege based
S 14 |)discovery disputes involving federal claims,” the “state privilege law which is
15 ||consistent with its federal equivalent significantly assists in applying [federal]
16 || privilege law to discovery disputes”); Soto v. City of Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603, 613
17 ||n. 4, 616 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (peace officers have constitutionally-based “privacy rights
18 |] [that] are not inconsequential” in their police personnel records); cf. Cal. Penal Code
19||§§ 832.7, 832.8; Cal. Evid. Code §§ 1040-1047. Defendants further contend that
20 || uncontrolled disclosure of such personnel file information can threaten the safety of
21 ||non-party witnesses, officers, and their families/associates.
22 Second, Defendants contend that municipalities and law enforcement agencies
23 ||have federal deliberative-executive process privilege, federal official information
24 || privilege, federal law enforcement privilege, and federal attorney-client privilege
25 || (and/or attorney work product protection) interests in the personnel files of their peace
26 || officers — particularly as to those portions of peace officer personnel files that contain
27 || critical self-analysis, internal deliberation/decision-making or evaluation/analysis, or
28 || communications for the purposes of obtaining or rendering legal advice or analysis —
1 || potentially including but not limited to evaluative/analytical portions of Internal
2 || Affairs type records or reports, evaluative/analytical portions of supervisory records
3 || or reports, and/or reports prepared at the direction of counsel, or for the purpose of
4 || obtaining or rendering legal advice. See Sanchez, 936 F.2d at 1033-1034; Maricopa
5 ||Audubon Soc’y v. United States Forest Serv., 108 F.3d 1089, 1092-1095 (9th Cir.
6 || 1997); Soto, 162 F.R.D. at 613, 613 n. 4; Kelly v. City of San Jose, 114 F.R.D. 654,
7 || 668-671 (N.D. Cal. 1987); Tuite v. Henry, 181 F.R.D. 175, 176-177 (D. D.C. 1998);
8 || Hamstreet vy. Duncan, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89702 (D. Or. 2007); Admiral Ins. Co.
9 ||v. United States Dist. Ct., 881 F.2d 1486, 1492, 1495 (9th Cir. 1988). Defendants
”n 10 || further contend that such personnel file records are restricted from disclosure by the
2 11 || public entity’s custodian of records pursuant to applicable California law and that
= 12 |)uncontrolled release is likely to result in needless intrusion of officer privacy;
13 ||impairment in the collection of third-party witness information and statements
S and related legitimate law enforcement investigations/interests; and a chilling of
15|;open and honest discussion regarding and/or investigation into alleged
16 || misconduct that can erode a public entity’s ability to identify and/or implement
17 remedial measures that may be required.
18 Third, Defendants contend that, since peace officers do not have the same rights
19 |)as other private citizens to avoid giving compelled statements, it is contrary to the
20 ||fundamental principles of fairness to permit uncontrolled release of officers’
21 ||compelled statements. See generally Lybarger y. City of Los Angeles, 40 Cal.3d 822,
22 || 828-830 (1985); cf. U.S. Const., amend V.
23 Accordingly, Defendants contend that, without a protective order preventing
24 || such, production of confidential records in the case can and will likely substantially
25 ||impair and harm defendant public entity’s interests in candid self-critical analysis,
26 || frank internal deliberations, obtaining candid information from witnesses, preserving
27 ||the safety of witnesses, preserving the safety of peace officers and peace officers’
28 ||families and associates, protecting the privacy officers of peace officers, and
1 ||preventing pending investigations from being detrimentally undermined by
2 || publication of private, sensitive, or confidential information — as can and often does
3 || result in litigation.
4 Plaintiffs agree that there is Good Cause for a Protective Order so as to preserve
5 || the respective interests of the parties without the need to further burden the Court with
6 ||such issues. Specifically, the parties jointly contend that, absent this Stipulation and
7 \|1ts associated Protective Order, the parties’ respective privilege interests may be
8 || impaired or harmed, and that this Stipulation and its associated Protective Order may
9 || avoid such harm by permitting the parties to facilitate discovery with reduced risk that
”n 10 || privileged and/or sensitive/confidential information will become matters of public
2 11 || record.
= 12 1.2. The parties jointly contend that there is typically a particularized need
13 |)for protection as to any medical or psychotherapeutic records and autopsy
S 14 || photographs, because of the privacy interests at stake therein. Because of these
15 |] sensitive interests, a Court Order should address these documents rather than a private
16 || agreement between the parties.
17 1.3. The parties therefore stipulate that there is Good Cause for, and hereby
18 |] jointly request that the honorable Court issue/enter, a Protective Order re confidential
19 || documents consistent with the terms and provisions of this Stipulation. However, the
20 ||entry of a Protective Order by the Court pursuant to this Stipulation shall not be
21 ||construed as any ruling by the Court on the aforementioned legal statements or
22 || privilege claims in this section (§ 1), nor shall this section be construed as part of any
23 || such Court Order.
24 A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS.
25 Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production
26 || of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from
27 || public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting or defending
28 || this litigation would be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and
1 || petition the court to enter the following Stipulation and an associated Order.
2 The parties acknowledge that this Stipulation and associated Order does not
3 || confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the
4 || protection it affords extends only to the specified information or items that are entitled
5 || to treatment as confidential.
6 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth below, that this Stipulation and
7||Order creates no entitlement to file confidential information under seal; Central
8 || District Local Rules 79-5.1 and 79-5.2 set(s) forth the procedures that must be
9 || followed and reflects the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission
”n 10 || from the court to file material under seal.
2 11 Nothing in this Stipulation or associated Order shall be construed so as to
= 12 |)/require or mandate that any Party disclose or produce privileged information or
13 |]records that could be designated as Confidential Documents/Protected Material
14 || hereunder.
15 |}2. DEFINITIONS.
16 2.1. Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors,
17 |}employees, agents, consultants, retained experts, house counsel and outside counsel
18 || (and/or the support staff thereof).
19 2.2. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
20 || of the medium or manner generated, stored or maintained (including, among other
21 || things, testimony, transcripts, or tangible things) that are produced — or generated in
22 || disclosures or responses to discovery — by any Party in this matter.
23 2.3. “Confidential” Information or Items: information (regardless of the
24 || medium or how generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
25 || protection under standards developed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)
26 ||and/or applicable federal privileges. This material includes, but is not limited to,
27 ||medical records, psychotherapeutic records, and autopsy photographs; as well as
28 || peace officer personnel records as defined by California Penal Code sections 832.8,
1 || 832.5, 832.7 and the associated case law; and other similar confidential records
2 || designated as such.
3 2.4. Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
4 || from a Producing Party, including a Party that has noticed or subpoenaed and is taking
5 || a deposition or comparable testimony.
6 2.5. Producing Party: a Party or non-party that produces Disclosure or
7\| Discovery Material in this action, including a Party that is defending a deposition
8 || noticed or subpoenaed by another Party; additionally, for the limited purpose of
9 || designating testimony subject to this Stipulation and Order pursuant to section 6.2(b)
”n 10 || (infra), a “Producing Party” shall also be construed to include a Party that is attending
2 11 || and/or participating in a non-party deposition noticed/subpoenaed by another Party.
= 12 2.6. Designating Party: a Party or non-party public entity employer of a Party
13 || that designates information or items that 1t produces in disclosures or in responses to
S 14||discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
15 2.7. Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
|| designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” under the provisions of this Stipulation and
17 || Protective Order. (The term “Confidential Document” shall be synonymous with the
18 |]/term “Protected Material” for the purposes of this Stipulation and any associated
19 || Protective Order.)
20 2.8. Outside Counsel: attorneys who are not employees of a Party but who
21 || are retained to represent or advise a Party in this action (as well as their support staffs).
22 2.9. House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party (as well as their
23 || support staffs).
24 2.10. Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel and House Counsel (as
25 || well as their support staffs).
26 2.11. Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
27 || pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
28 ||an expert witness or as a consultant in this action and who is not a past or a current
1 ||}employee of a Party and who, at the time of retention, 1s not anticipated to become an
2 ||employee of a Party or a competitor of a Party’s; as well as any person retained,
3 || designated, or disclosed by a Party as an expert pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
4 || Procedure 26(a)(2) or other applicable discovery Rules or statutes.
5 2.12. Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
6||services (e.g., photocopying; videotaping; translating; preparing exhibits or
7 || demonstrations; and/or organizing, storing, retrieving data in any form or medium;
8 || etc.); and their employees and subcontractors.
9 || 3. SCOPE OF PROTECTION.
”n 10 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and its associated Order cover not
2 11 |}only Protected Material/Confidential Documents (as defined above), but also (1) any
= 12 |)information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts,
13 |}summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony,
S 14 |) conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected
15 || Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and its associated
16 || Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is in the public
17 || domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public
18 || domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving
19 |/a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record through trial or
20 || otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the
21 || disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who
22 || obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the
23 || Designating Party.
24 Any use of Protected Material at trial or other court hearings or proceedings
25 || shall be governed by the Orders of the trial judge, and the Stipulated Protective Order
26 || does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
27 || 4. DURATION OF PROTECTION.
28 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
1 |}imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees
2 || otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs.
3 Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims
|| and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein
5 || after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or
6 || reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications
7 || for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
8 ||5. DESIGNATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL/CONFIDENTIAL
DOCUMENTS.
9
”n 10 5.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
2 11 Each Party or non-party that designates information or items for protection
= ||under this Stipulation and its associated Order must take care to limit any such
13 || designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. A
S 14 |) Designating Party must take care to designate for protection only those parts of
15 || material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify — so that
16|/other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for which
17 || protection 1s not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
18 Mass, indiscriminate, or routine designations are prohibited. Designations that
19 |)are shown to be clearly unjustified, or that have been made for an improper purpose
20 || (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process, or to impose
21 ||} unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), expose the Designating Party to
22 || sanctions.
23 If it comes to a Party’s or a non-party’s attention that information or items that
24 ||/it designated for protection do not qualify for protection at all, or do not qualify for
25 || the level of protection initially asserted, that Party or non-party must promptly notify
26 || all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
27 5.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
28 || this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, material that qualifies for protection
1 ||under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
2 || produced.
3 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
4 (a) for information in documentary form (apart from transcripts of
5 || depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings, and regardless of whether produced
6||in hardcopy or electronic form), that the Producing Party affix the legend
7 || “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion
8 || or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also
9 || must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
”n 10 || in the margins) and must specify, for each portion that it is “CONFIDENTIAL.” The
2 11 || placement of such “CONFIDENTIAL” stamp on such page(s) shall not obstruct the
= 12 |)substance of the page’s (or pages’) text or content and shall be in the margin of the
13 || document whenever possible.
S 14 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for
15 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
16 || indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection
17 |) and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
18 || deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents
19 |/it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,
20 || or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing
21 ||the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL”
22 || legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of
23 || the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
24 |jidentify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
25 || margins).
26 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings,
27 || that the Party or non-party offering or sponsoring the testimony identify on the record,
28 ||before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected
1 ||testimony, and further specify any portions of the testimony that qualify as
2 || “CONFIDENTIAL.” When it is impractical to identify separately each portion of
3 || testimony that is entitled to protection, and when it appears that substantial portions
of the testimony may qualify for protection, the Producing Party may invoke on the
5 || record (before the deposition or proceeding is concluded) a right to have up to twenty
6 || (20) days to identify the specific portions of the testimony as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7||Only those portions of the testimony that are appropriately designated as
8 ||“CONFIDENTIAL” for protection within the 20 days shall be covered by the
9 || provisions of this Stipulation and its associated Protective Order.
”n 10 The court reporter must affix to each such transcript page containing Protected
2 11 || Material the legend “CONFIDENTIAL,” as instructed by the Producing Party.
= 12 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary, and for
13 || any other tangible items (including but not limited to information produced on disc or
S 14 || electronic data storage device), that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
15 || the exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored
16 || the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only portions of the information or item warrant
17 || protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
18 || portions, specifying the material as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
19 5.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected (preferably,
20 || though not necessarily, within 30 days of production or disclosure of such material),
21|}an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items as
22 || “CONFIDENTIAL” does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to
23 ||secure protection under this Stipulation and its associated Order for such material.
24 If material is appropriately designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” after the material
25 || was initially produced, the Receiving Party, on timely notification of the designation,
26 || must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with
27 || this Stipulation and its associated Order.
28
1 || 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS.
2 6.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
3 |/designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court's
4 □□ Scheduling Order. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
5 □□ designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable substantial unfairness, unnecessary
6 || economic burdens, or a later significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party
7 || does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to
8 || mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed.
9 6.2. Meet and Confer. Prior to challenging a confidentiality designation, a
”n 10 || Challenging Party shall initiate a dispute resolution process by providing written
2 11 ||notice of each specific designation it is challenging, and describing the basis (and
= 12 ||supporting authority or argument) for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to
13 || whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must recite that the challenge
S 14 confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph of the
15 |] associated Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in
16 || good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly (in voice to voice
17 || dialogue, either in person, telephonically, or by other comparable means, but not by
18 || correspondence) within 14 days of the date of service of notice.
19 In conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the specific basis for its belief
20 || that the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the Designating
21||Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the
22 || circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the
23 ||chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the
24 || challenge process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or
25 || establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer
26 || process in a timely manner.
27 Frivolous challenges, and those challenges made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
28 || to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), may expose
| || the Challenging Party to sanctions.
2 6.3. Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a confidentiality
3 challenge without court intervention, the Challenging Party shall file and serve a
|| motion to remove confidentiality (under the applicable rules for filing and service of
5 || discovery motions) within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer
6 || process will not resolve their dispute, or by the first day of trial of this matter,
7 || whichever date is earlier — unless the parties agree in writing to a longer time.
8 The parties must strictly comply with Central District Local Rules 37-1 and 37-
9||2 (including the joint stipulation re discovery dispute requirement) in any motion
”n 10 || associated with this Protective Order. Any motion challenging a party's designation
2 11 || of material as Confidential Information or seeking to modify or amend the proposed
= 12 || protective order must be brought at a time consistent with the Court's Scheduling
13 || Order and in strict compliance with Local Rules 37-1 and 37-2 (including the Joint
Ss 14 || Stipulation requirement).
15 Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming
16 || that the movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed in the
17 || preceding paragraph. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be
18 |] accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with
19 || the meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.
20 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
21 || Designating Party, regardless of whether the Designating Party is the moving party or
22 || whether such Party sought or opposes judicial intervention. Frivolous challenges, and
23 || those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses
24 || and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless
25 || the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to oppose
26 ||a motion to remove confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to
27 || afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
28 || Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge.
1 6.4. Withdrawal of “CONFIDENTIAL” Designation. At its discretion, a
2 || Designating Party may remove Protected Material/Confidential Documents from
3 ||some or all of the protections and provisions of this Stipulation and its associated
4 || Order at any time by any of the following methods:
5 (a) Express Written Withdrawal. A Designating Party may withdraw a
6||“CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any specified Protected Material
7 \|/Confidential Documents from some or all of the protections of this Stipulation and
8 || its associated Order by an express withdrawal in a writing signed by such Party (or
9 |}such Party’s Counsel, but not including staff of such Counsel) that specifies and
”n 10 ||itemizes the Disclosure or Discovery Material previously designated as Protected
2 11 || Material/Confidential Documents that shall no longer be subject to all or some of the
= 12 || provisions of this Stipulation and Order. Such express withdrawal shall be effective
13 || when transmitted or served upon the Receiving Party. If a Designating Party is
S 14 || withdrawing Protected Material from only some of the provisions/ protections of this
15 |] Stipulation and Order, such Party must state which specific provisions are no longer
16||to be enforced as to the specified material for which confidentiality protection
17 ||hereunder is withdrawn: otherwise, such withdrawal shall be construed as a
18 || withdrawal of such material from all of the protections/provisions of this Stipulation
19 || and Order;
20 (b) Express Withdrawal on the Record. A Designating Party may withdraw
21\}a “CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any _ specified Protected
22 || Material/Confidential Documents from all of the provisions/protections of this
23 || Stipulation and its associated Order by verbally consenting in court proceedings on
||the record to such withdrawal — provided that such withdrawal specifies the
25 ||Disclosure or Discovery Material previously designated as Protected Material/
26 || Confidential Documents that shall no longer be subject to any of the provisions of this
27 ||Stipulation and Order. A Designating Party is not permitted to withdraw Protected
28 || Material from only some of the protections/provisions of this Stipulation and Order
1 || by this method;
2 (c) Implicit Withdrawal by Publication or Failure to Oppose Challenge. A
3 || Designating Party shall be construed to have withdrawn a “CONFIDENTIAL”
4 || designation made to any specified Protected Material/Confidential Documents from
5 || all of the provisions/protections of this Stipulation and Order by either (1) making
6 ||such Protected Material/Confidential Records part of the public record — including
7\|but not limited to attaching such as exhibits to any filing with the court without
8 || moving, prior to such filing, for the court to seal such records; or (2) failing to timely
9 || oppose a Challenging Party’s motion to remove a “CONFIDENTIAL” designation to
”n 10 || specified Protected Material/Confidential Documents. Nothing in this Stipulation and
2 11 |;Order shall be construed so as to require any Party to file Protected
= 12 || Material/Confidential Documents under seal, unless expressly specified herein.
13 ||7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.
S 14 7.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
15 || disclosed or produced by another Party or by a non-party in connection with this case
16 || only for preparing, prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation — up
17 || to and including final disposition of the above-entitled action — and not for any other
18 || purpose, including any other litigation or dispute outside the scope of this action.
19 |) Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under
20 || the conditions described in this Stipulation and its associated Order. When the above
21 |jentitled litigation has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
22 || provisions of section 11, below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
23 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
24 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
25 || authorized under this Stipulation and its Order.
26 7.2. Disclosure □□□ “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
27 || otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
28 || Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated CONFIDENTIAL
1 || only to:
2 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of record in this action, as well
3 ||as employees of such Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
4 || information for this litigation;
5 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
6 || Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation — each
7 \|of whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be bound
8 || by this Stipulation and Order;
9 (c) Experts (as defined in this Stipulation and Order) of the Receiving Party
”n 10 ||to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation — each of whom, by
2 11 |}accepting receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be bound by this
= 12 || Stipulation and Order;
13 (d) court reporters, their staffs, and Professional Vendors to whom
S 14 || disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation — each of whom, by accepting
15 |]receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be bound by this Stipulation and
16 || Order;
17 (e) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is
18 |]/reasonably necessary — each of whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected
19 ||Material, thereby agree to be bound by this Stipulation and Order. Pages of
20 || transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected
21 || Material must have a confidential designation affixed by the court reporter to such
22 || pages containing Protected Material and such may not be disclosed to anyone except
23 || as permitted under this Stipulation and its Protective Order.
24 (f) the author or custodian of a document containing the information that
25 || constitutes Protected Material, or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the
26 || information.
27 (g) the court and its personnel, including court reporters and their staff.
28 || Protected Material may be disclosed to the court and its personnel without requiring
1 || such persons to agree to be bound by the Stipulation and Order.
2 (h) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
3 || mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
4
5||8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
‘ PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION.
7 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
8 ||that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as
9 || “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
”n 10 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party, preferably (though not
2 11 || necessarily) by facsimile or electronic mail. Such notification shall include a copy of
= 12 || the subpoena or court order at issue;
13 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
S 14 |/issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
15 || or order is subject to this Stipulation and its Protective Order. Such notification shall
16 || include a copy of this Stipulation and its Protective Order; and
17 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
18 || by all sides in any such situation, while adhering to the terms of this Stipulation and
19 || its Order.
20 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
21 || the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
22 ||as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
23 || or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
24 || Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
25 || of its confidential material — and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
26 || authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful
27 || directive from another court.
28 The purpose of this section is to ensure that the affected Party has a meaningful
1 ||}opportunity to preserve its confidentiality interests in the court from which the
2 || subpoena or court order issued.
3 || 9. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.
4 9.1. Unauthorized Disclosure of Protected Material.
5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
6 || Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
7 || Stipulation and Order, the Receiving Party must immediately:
8 (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures;
9 (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all copies of the Protected Material;
”n 10 (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made
2 11 || of all the terms of this Order; and
= 12 (d) request such person or persons consent to be bound by the Stipulation and
13 || Order.
S 14 9.2. Inadvertent Production of Privileged or Otherwise Protected Material.
15 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
16 || inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
17 || the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
18 |] Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
19 |) may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
20 || privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
22 ||information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
23 || parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
24 || to the court.
25|}10. PUBLICATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL PROHIBITED.
26 10.1. Filing of Protected Material.
27 Without advance written permission from the Designating Party, or a court
28 || order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Receiving Party may
1 ||not file in the public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks
2 || to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with the applicable Federal and
3 || Local Rules.
4 10.2. Public Dissemination of Protected Material.
5 A Receiving Party shall not publish, release, post, or disseminate Protected
6 || Material to any persons except those specifically delineated and authorized by this
7 || Stipulation and its Order (see section 7, supra); nor shall a Receiving Party publish,
8 || release, leak, post, or disseminate Protected Material/Confidential Documents to any
9 || news media, member of the press, website, or public forum (except as permitted under
”n 10 || section 7.5 regarding filings with the court in this action and under seal).
2 ||11. FINAL DISPOSITION.
= 12 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
13 || days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
S 14 |) all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
15 |]subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
16 |]}summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
17 || Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
18 |] must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
19 |jor entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
20 || category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
21 |jand (2)affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
22 ||compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
23 || Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
24 ||archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
25 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
26 || reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
27 ||materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
28 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
1 || Section 4 (DURATION).
2/12. MISCELLANEOUS.
3 12.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulation and its Order
4 || abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
5 12.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of a
6 || Protective Order pursuant to this Stipulation, no Party waives any right it otherwise
7\| would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any
8 || ground not addressed in this Stipulation and its Order. Similarly, no Party waives any
9 || right to object on any ground to use in evidence any of the material covered by this
”n 10 || Stipulation and its Protective Order.
2 11 12.3. This Stipulation may be signed in counterpart and a facsimile or
= 12 |) electronic signature shall be as valid as an original signature.
Oo
z 13 IT IS SO STIPULATED.
S 14
<x
= 15||DATED: August 3, 2023 MANNING & KASS
16 ELLROD, RAMIREZ, TRESTER LLP
17
18 By: /s/ Kayleigh A. Andersen
Eugene P. Ramirez, Esq.
19 Kayleigh A. Andersen, Esq.
0 Attorneys for Defendants
21
|| DATED: August 3, 2023 LAW OFFICES OF DALE K. GALIPO
23 .
By: /8/ Renee Valentine
24 Dale K. Galipo, Esq.
Renee Valentine, Esq.
25 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
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1 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
3||DATED: — August 04, 2023
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[eon by
HON. KENLY KTYA KATO
United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, [print or type full
4 name], of [print or type full address], declare
5 || under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated
6 || Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central
7 || District of California on [date] in the case of Louie Soria, et al. v.
8 || County of San Bernardino, et al., Case No. 5:22-CV-01958-JGB-KK. I agree to
9 || comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and
”n 10 || I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions
2 11 || and 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
Ss 14 |] Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 || for 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. I hereby appoint [print
19 || or type full name] of [print or type
20 || full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process
21 |}in 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 || Printed name:
26 || Signature:
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