The opinion
1 Caree Harper, Esq. (State Bar No. 219048)
LAW OFFICES OF CAREE HARPER
2 100 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA 90401
3 Email: ch1@attorneyharper.com
Tel: (213) 386-5078
4
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
5
Rickey Ivie, Esq. (State Bar No.: 76864)
6 Email: rivie@imwlaw.com
Angela M. Powell, Esq. (State Bar No. 191876)
7 Email: apowell@imwlaw.com
Marina Samson, Esq. (State Bar No. 315024)
8 Email: msamson@imwlaw.com
IVIE McNEILL WYATT PURCELL & DIGGS
9 444 S. Flower Street, 18th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017-2919
10 Tel: (213) 489-0028
Fax: (213) 489-0552
11
Attorneys for Defendants COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, SHERIFF ROBERT
12 LUNA
13 Janet L. Keuper, Esq. (State Bar N0.)
14 SEKI, NISHIMURA & WATASE, LLP
600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1250
15 Los Angeles, CA 90017
16 Tel: (213) 481-2869
Attorneys for Defendant DEPUTY TREVOR KIRK
17
18 Ralph T. Collins, Esq. (State Bar No.142920)
REESE, SMALLEY, WISEMAN & SCHWEITZER, LLP
19
1265 Willis Street
20 Post Office Box 994647
Redding, California 96099-4647
21
Telephone:(530)241-1611
22 Facsimile: (530) 364-1645
E-mail: ralph.collins@rswslaw.com
23
24 Attorneys for Defendant WINCO FOODS, LLC
25
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
26
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
27
| JACY HOUSETON and DAMON Case No.:2:23-cv-06887-SVW-MRW
5 BARNES,
Plaintiffs, [PROPOSED] STIPULATED
3 y ROTECTIVE ORDER
4 (MRW VERSION 4/19)
s | SQUNRY gpties anges
, L] Check if submitted without
DEPUTY TREVOR KIRK, WINCO :
6 FOODS, LLC a Delaware Limited material modifications to MRW form
Liability Company, and WINCO
7 HOLDINGS, INC., an Idaho
Gorporation, individually & in their
8 Official Capacities and DOES | to 10,
9 Inclusive
Defendants.
10
1]
12 1. INTRODUCTION
13 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
14 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
15 || proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
16 || disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
17 || be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
18 || enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
19 || Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
20 || discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
21 || only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
22 || under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth
23 || in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to
24 || file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
25 || procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
26 || seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
27 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
28 This action 1s likely to involve confidential information pertaining to personnel
1 records and other materials subject to privacy protections for which special protection
2 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this
3 action is warranted. Limiting disclosure of these documents to the context of this
4 litigation as provided herein will, accordingly, further important law enforcement
5 objections and interests, including the safety of personnel and the public, as well as
6 individual privacy rights of plaintiff, the individual defendants, and third parties. Such
7 confidential materials and information consist of, among other things, materials
8 entitled to privileges and/or protections under the following: United States
9 Constitution, First Amendment; the California Constitution, Article I, Section 1;
10 California Penal Code §§ 832.5, 832.7 and 832.8; California Evidence Code §§ 1040
11 and 1043 et. seq; the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552; Health Insurance Portability
12 and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA); the right to privacy; decisional law relating
13 to such provisions; and information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or
14 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal
15 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Defendants also contend that
16 such confidential materials and information consist of materials entitled to the Official
17 Information Privilege.
18 Confidential information with respect to the Defendants may include, but is not
19 limited to: personnel files; internal investigative files and documents; email and
20 written correspondence records; and policies and procedures that are kept from the
21 public in the ordinary course of business, as well as other information that is not
22 generally available to the public and is subject to the Official Information Privilege
23 and other privileges. Confidential information with financial records; email and
24 written correspondence records; video footage and/or photographs of the incident; and
25 psychological and medical notes, evaluations, reports, and treatment plans.
26 Testimony taken at a deposition may be designated as Confidential by making
27 a statement to that effect on the record at the deposition. Arrangements shall be made
1 the transcript containing information designated as Confidential, and to label such
2 portions appropriately.
3 The parties reserve the right to challenge a designation of confidentiality
4 pursuant to the terms set forth under Paragraph 6 of this Order.
5 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
6 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
7 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
8 parties are permitted to reasonably use such material in preparation for and in conduct
9 of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of
10 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent
11 of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical
12 reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been
13 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it
14 should not be part of the public record of this case.
15
16 2. DEFINITIONS
17 2.1 Action: Jacy Houseton, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al., Case
18 No. 2:23-cv-06887-SVW-MRW
19 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
20 designation of information or items under this Order.
21 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
22 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
23 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
24 the Good Cause Statement.
25 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
26 their support staff).
27
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
3 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
4 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
7 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
8 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
9 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
10 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
11 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
12 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
13 counsel.
14 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
15 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
16 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
17 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
18 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
19 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
20 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
21 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
22 support staffs).
23 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
24 Discovery Material in this Action.
25 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
26 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
27 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
1 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
2 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
4 Material from a Producing Party.
5
6 3. SCOPE
7 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
8 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
9 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
10 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
11 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
12 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the
13 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
14
15 4. DURATION
16
17 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any
18 appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal
19 has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through
20 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action. The parties may stipulate that they will be
21 contractually bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION,
22 but will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all
23 proceedings in this case are complete.
24 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
25 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced
26 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
27 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
1 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”
2 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
3 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for
4 such materials, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the
5 commencement of the trial.
6
7 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
9 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
10 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
11 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
12 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
13 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
14 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
15 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
16 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
17 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
18 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
19 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
20 Party to sanctions.
21 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
22 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
23 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
24 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
25 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
26 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
27 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
1 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
2 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
3 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
4 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
5 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
6 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
7 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
8 markings in the margins).
9 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
10 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
11 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the
12 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
13 inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
14 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
15 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
16 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must
17 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material.
18 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
19 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
20 appropriate markings in the margins).
21 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
22 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
23 protected testimony.
24 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
25 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
26 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
27 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
1 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
2 portion(s).
3 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
4 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
5 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
6 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
7 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
8 Order.
9
10 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
11 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
12 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
13 Scheduling Order.
14 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute
15 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1
16 et seq.
17 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on
18 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
19 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
20 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
21 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will
22 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
23 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
24 challenge.
25
26 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
27 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
1 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
2 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
3 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
4 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
5 DISPOSITION).
6 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
7 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
8 authorized under this Order.
9 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
10 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
11 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
12 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
13 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
14 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
15 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
16 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
17 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
18 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
19 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
20 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
21 (d) the Court and its personnel;
22 (e) court reporters and their staff;
23 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
24 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
25 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
26 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
27 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
1 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
2 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
3 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
4 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
5 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
6 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
7 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
8 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
9 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
10 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
11 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
12
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
16 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
17 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
18 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
19 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
20 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
21 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
22 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include
23 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
24 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
25 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
26 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
27 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this
1 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
2 permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking
3 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
4 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
5 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
6
7 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
8 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
9 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
10 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
11 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
12 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
13 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
14 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
15 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
16 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
17 confidential information, then the Party will:
18 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
19 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
20 agreement with a Non-Party;
21 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
22 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
23 specific description of the information requested; and
24 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
25 Non-Party, if requested.
26 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
27 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
1 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will
2 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
3 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
4 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense
5 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
6
7 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
9 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
10 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
11 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
12 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
13 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
14 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
15 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
16
17 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
18 PROTECTED MATERIAL
19 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
20 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
21 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
22 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
23 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
24 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
25 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
26 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
27 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
1
2 12. MISCELLANEOUS
3 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
4 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 this
6 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
7 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
8 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
9 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
10 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
11 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
12 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
13 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
14 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
15 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
16
17 13. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal
18 contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary
19 authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
20
21 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
22
23 DATED: November 20, 2023 /s/ Caree Harper__________
Caree Harper
24 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
25
26
DATED: November 20, 2023 /s/ Angela M. Powell____________
27 Rickey Ivie
Angela M. Powell
Attorneys for Defendants COUNTY OF
| LOS ANGELES, SHERIFF ROBERT
LUNA
2
3
DATED: November 20, 2023 /s/ Janet Keuper
4 Janet Keuper
Attorneys for
5 Defendant DEPUTY TREVOR KIRK
6
7
DATED: November 20, 2023 /s/ Kenneth Zuetel, Jr.
8 Kenneth Zuetel, Jr.
Attomeys for Defendant WINCO FOODS,
9 LLC
10 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4 (a)(2)(1), I, Marina Samson, do hereby attest that all of the
11 signatories listed on this stipulation, and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the
12. || filing’s content and authorize the filing of this motion.
13 /s/Angela M. Powell
14 Angela M. Powell
15 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
16
17 ~
DATED: _ 11/20/23 AL fe
18 HON. MICHAEE R. WILNER
19 United States Magistrate Judge
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of
8 ___________ Jacy Houseton, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al., Case No. 2:23-
9 cv-06887-SVW-MRW.I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of
10 this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
11 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
12 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that
13 is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
14 compliance with the provisions of this 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 __________________________ [full
19 name] of _______________________________________ [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 signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27