explaining the interest of 9 citizens in “keep[ing] a watchful eye on the workings of public agencies”
How later courts described this case
- explaining the interest of 9 citizens in “keep[ing] a watchful eye on the workings of public agencies”
- a party’s privacy rights are to be protected through a “carefully 2 crafted protective order.”
- peace officers have constitutionally-based “privacy rights [that] are 17 not inconsequential” in their police personnel records
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 Denisse O. Gastélum, SBN 282771 Christian Contreras, SBN 330269
GASTÉLUM LAW, APC THE LAW OFFICES OF
2
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION CHRISTIAN CONTRERAS
3 3767 Worsham Ave. PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
Long Beach, California 90808 360 E. 2nd St., 8th Floor
4 Tel: (213) 340-6112 Los Angeles, California 90012
Fax: (213) 402-8622 Tel: (323) 435-8000
5 Email: dgastelum@gastelumfirm.com Fax: (323) 597-0101
Email: CC@Contreras-Law.com
6 Attorneys for Plaintiffs,
ESTATE OF MICHAEL VASQUEZ, by and through successor in interest, Kathy
7 Nigro; KATHY NIGRO, individually
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – EASTERN DIVISION
10
11 ESTATE OF MICHAEL VASQUEZ, ) CASE NO. 5:23-cv-00988-JGB-KK
by and through successor in interest, ) [Assigned to the Hon. Jesus G. Bernal,
12 Kathy Nigro; KATHY NIGRO, ) District Judge; Referred to the Hon. Kenly
individually, ) Kiya Kato, Magistrate Judge]
13 Plaintiffs, )
)
14 v. ) DISCOVERY MATTER
)
15 COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, a public )
entity; RIVERSIDE COUNTY ) [PROPOSED] STIPULATED
16 SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; ) PROTECTIVE ORDER
SHERIFF CHAD BIANCO, in his )
17 individual and official capacities; )
EDWARD DELGADO; JAMES )
18 KRACHMER; DAVID HOLM; and )
DOES 1 through 10, individually, )
19 jointly and severally, )
)
20 Defendants. )
)
21 )
) Discovery Cutoff: TBD
22 ) Trial: TBD
23
PURSUANT TO THE STIPULATION OF THE PARTIES (“Stipulation for
24
Entry of Protective Order re Confidential Documents”), and pursuant to the Court’s
25
inherent and statutory authority, including but not limited to the Court’s authority under
26
the applicable Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the United States District Court,
27
Central District of California Local Rules; after due consideration of all of the relevant
28
1 pleadings, papers, and records in this action; and upon such other evidence or argument
2 as was presented to the Court; Good Cause appearing therefor, and in furtherance of
3 the interests of justice,
4 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
5 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
6 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
7 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
8 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation would be warranted.
9 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following
10 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer
11 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection
12 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or
13 items that are entitled to a confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
14 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated
15 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil
16 Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that
17 will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
18 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
19 Plaintiffs and the individual Defendants may produce certain documents in this
20 case that contain personal medical, employment or financial information. Such
21 information may implicate the privacy interests of the party and are properly protected
22 through a Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) protective order. Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467
23 U.S. 20, 35 n.21 (1984) (“Rule 26(c) includes among its express purposes the
24 protection of a ‘party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression or undue
25 burden or expense.’ Although the Rule contains no specific reference to privacy or to
26 other rights or interests that may be implicated, such matters are implicit in the broad
27 purpose and language of the Rule.”); Soto v. City of Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603, 617
28
1 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (a party’s privacy rights are to be protected through a “carefully
2 crafted protective order.”).
3 Defendants contend that there is good cause and a particularized need for a
4 protective order to preserve the interests of confidentiality and privacy in peace officer
5 personnel file records and associated investigative or confidential records for the
6 following reasons.
7 First, Defendants contend that peace officers have a federal privilege of privacy
8 in their personnel file records: a reasonable expectation of privacy therein that is
9 underscored, specified, and arguably heightened by the Pitchess protective procedure
10 of California law. See Sanchez v. Santa Ana Police Dept., 936 F.2d 1027, 1033-1034
11 (9th Cir. 1990); Hallon v. City of Stockton, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14665, *2-3, 12-13
12 (E.D. Cal. 2012) (concluding that “while “[f]ederal law applies to privilege based
13 discovery disputes involving federal claims,” the “state privilege law which is
14 consistent with its federal equivalent significantly assists in applying [federal] privilege
15 law to discovery disputes”); Soto v. City of Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603, 613 n. 4, 616
16 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (peace officers have constitutionally-based “privacy rights [that] are
17 not inconsequential” in their police personnel records); cf. Cal. Penal Code §§ 832.7,
18 832.8; Cal. Evid. Code §§ 1040-1047. Defendants further contend that uncontrolled
19 disclosure of such personnel file information can threaten the safety of non-party
20 witnesses, officers, and their families/associates.
21 Second, Defendants contend that municipalities and law enforcement agencies
22 have federal deliberative-executive process privilege, federal official information
23 privilege, federal law enforcement privilege, and federal attorney-client privilege
24 (and/or attorney work product protection) interests in the personnel files of their peace
25 officers – particularly as to those portions of peace officer personnel files that contain
26 critical self-analysis, internal deliberation/decision-making or evaluation/analysis, or
27 communications for the purposes of obtaining or rendering legal advice or analysis –
28 potentially including but not limited to evaluative/analytical portions of Internal Affairs
1 type records or reports, evaluative/analytical portions of supervisory records or reports,
2 and/or reports prepared at the direction of counsel, or for the purpose of obtaining or
3 rendering legal advice. See Sanchez, 936 F.2d at 1033-1034; Maricopa Audubon Soc’y
4 v. United States Forest Serv., 108 F.3d 1089, 1092-1095 (9th Cir. 1997); Soto, 162
5 F.R.D. at 613, 613 n. 4; Kelly v. City of San Jose, 114 F.R.D. 654, 668-671 (N.D. Cal.
6 1987); Tuite v. Henry, 181 F.R.D. 175, 176-177 (D. D.C. 1998); Hamstreet v. Duncan,
7 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89702 (D. Or. 2007); Admiral Ins. Co. v. United States Dist.
8 Ct., 881 F.2d 1486, 1492, 1495 (9th Cir. 1988). Defendants further contend that such
9 personnel file records are restricted from disclosure by the public entity’s custodian of
10 records pursuant to applicable California law and that uncontrolled release is likely to
11 result in needless intrusion of officer privacy; impairment in the collection of third-
12 party witness information and statements and related legitimate law enforcement
13 investigations/interests; and a chilling of open and honest discussion regarding and/or
14 investigation into alleged misconduct that can erode a public entity’s ability to identify
15 and/or implement any remedial measures that may be required.
16 Third, Defendants contend that, since peace officers do not have the same rights
17 as other private citizens to avoid giving compelled statements, it is contrary to the
18 fundamental principles of fairness to permit uncontrolled release of officers’ compelled
19 statements. See generally Lybarger v. City of Los Angeles, 40 Cal.3d 822, 828-830
20 (1985); cf. U.S. Const., amend V.
21 Accordingly, Defendants contend that, without a protective order preventing
22 such, production of confidential records in the case can and will likely substantially
23 impair and harm defendant public entity’s interests in candid self-critical analysis,
24 frank internal deliberations, obtaining candid information from witnesses, preserving
25 the safety of witnesses, preserving the safety of peace officers and peace officers’
26 families and associates, protecting the privacy officers of peace officers, and preventing
27 pending investigations from being detrimentally undermined by publication of private,
28 sensitive, or confidential information – as can and often does result in litigation.
1 Plaintiffs do not agree with and do not stipulate to Defendants’ contentions stated
2 above. Plaintiffs have expressed their concerns pertaining to the use of stipulated
3 protective orders in federal civil rights actions. To begin, documents exchanged in
4 discovery are presumptively public in nature. San Jose Mercury News, Inc. v. U.S.
5 District Court, 187 F.3d 1096, 1103 (9th Cir. 1999). Furthermore, the public maintains
6 a notable interest in the protection of civil rights and government accountability,
7 including in allegations of law enforcement misconduct. See, e.g., Nixon v. Warner
8 Communications, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n. 7 (1978) (explaining the interest of
9 citizens in “keep[ing] a watchful eye on the workings of public agencies”). While
10 Plaintiffs do not disagree that certain law enforcement documents, and specifically
11 personnel files, warrant the protections afforded by protective orders, Plaintiffs object
12 to the use of protective orders as blanket “confidential” designations. Given the legal
13 issues existing in the Vasquez matter (i.e., whether custody/medical personnel’s
14 deliberate indifference resulted in an in-custody death of a pretrial detainee), it is
15 Plaintiffs’ position that the public interest in government accountability and
16 transparency clearly outweighs any speculative harms the Defendants may allege
17 exist.1 Nonetheless, and in the interest of expediency given the controlling Scheduling
18 Order in the Vasquez matter, Plaintiffs agree to enter into a Stipulated Protective Order
19 to preserve the respective interests of the parties.
20 2. DEFINITIONS
21 2.1 Action: this pending federal law suit.
22 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
23 of information or items under this Order.
24 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of the
25 medium or how generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
26
27 1 As a general rule, the public is permitted access to litigation documents and information produced during
discovery, and the party opposing such disclosure must demonstrate particularized harm and, if such specific harm does
28 exist, the Court must still proceed to balance the competing private and public interests at stake. In re Roman Catholic
1 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), as specified above in the Good
2 Cause Statement, and other applicable federal privileges.
3 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
4 support staff).
5 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
6 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
7 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
8 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
9 the medium or manner generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things,
10 testimony, transcripts, or tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures
11 or responses to discovery in this matter.
12 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
13 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
14 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
15 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action.
16 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
17 counsel.
18 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
19 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
20 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
21 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
22 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
23 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
24 2.11 Party: any part to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
25 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
26 support staffs).
27 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
28 Discovery Material in this Action.
1 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
2 services (e.g., photocopying; videotaping; translating; preparing exhibits or
3 demonstrations; and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
4 their employees and subcontractors.
5 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
6 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
8 from a Producing Party.
9 3. SCOPE
10 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
11 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
12 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
13 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their
14 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
15 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the Orders of the trial
16 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
17 4. DURATION
18 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
19 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise
20 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be
21 the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without
22 prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all
23 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits
24 for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
25 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
26 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
27 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
28 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
1 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
2 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
3 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for
4 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
5 Order.
6 Mass, indiscriminate, or routine designations are prohibited. Designations that
7 are shown to be clearly unjustified, or that have been made for an improper purpose
8 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
9 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
10 to sanctions.
11 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
12 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
13 promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
14 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
15 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated
16 or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this
17 Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
18 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
19 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
20 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
21 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
22 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
23 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
24 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
25 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
26 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
27 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
28 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
1 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
2 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
3 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
4 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
5 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”
6 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the
7 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
8 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
9 Markings added to documents pursuant to this paragraph shall not obscure the content
10 or text of the documents produced.
11 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
12 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
13 deposition all protected testimony. The court reporter must affix to each such transcript
14 page containing Protected Material the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”, as instructed by
15 the Designating Party.
16 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
17 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
18 exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the
19 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portions or portions of the information or item
20 warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
21 protected portion(s).
22 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
23 failure to designate qualified information or items as “CONFIDENTIAL” does not,
24 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this
25 Stipulation and its associated Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
26 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the
27 material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
28
1 5.4 Privilege Logs. If a party withholds information that is responsive to a
2 discovery request by claiming that it is privileged or otherwise protected from
3 discovery, that party shall promptly prepare and provide a privilege log that is
4 sufficiently detailed and informative for the opposing party to assess whether a
5 document's designation as privileged is justified. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5). The
6 privilege log shall set forth the privilege relied upon and specify separately for each
7 document or for each category of similarly situated documents:
8 (a) the title and description of the document, including number of pages
9 or Bates- number range;
10 (b) the subject matter addressed in the document;
11 (c) the identity and position of its author(s);
12 (d) the identity and position of all addressees and recipients;
13 (e) the date the document was prepared and, if different, the date(s) on
14 which it was sent to or shared with persons other than its author(s); and
15 (f) the specific basis for the claim that the document is privileged and
16 protected.
17 Communications involving counsel that post-date the filing of the complaint
18 need not be placed on a privilege log.
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 Scheduling
22 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 the
26 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
27 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose
28 the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or
1 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
2 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
3 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
4 6.4 Withdrawal of “CONFIDENTIAL” Designation. At its discretion, a
5 Designating Party may remove Protected Material from some or all of the protections
6 and provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order at any time by any of the following
7 methods:
8 (a) Express Written Withdrawal. A Designating Party may withdraw a
9 “CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any specified Protected Material from some
10 or all of the protections of this Stipulated Protective Order by an express withdrawal in
11 writing signed by the Designating Party or Designating Party’s counsel (but not
12 including staff of such counsel) that specifies and itemizes the Disclosure or Discovery
13 Material previously designated as Protected Material that shall not longer be subject to
14 some or all of the provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order. Such express
15 withdrawal shall be effective when transmitted or served upon the Receiving Party. If
16 a Designating Party is withdrawing Protected Material from only some of the
17 provisions/protections of this Stipulated Protective Order, the Designating Party must
18 state which specific provisions are no longer to be enforced as to the specified material
19 for which confidentiality protection hereunder is withdrawn: otherwise, such
20 withdrawal shall be construed as a withdrawal of such material from all of the
21 protections/provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order;
22 (b) Express Withdrawal on the Record. A Designating Party may withdraw
23 a “CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any specified Protected Material from all
24 of the provisions/protections of this Stipulated Protective Order by verbally consenting
25 in court proceedings on the record to such withdrawal – provided that such withdrawal
26 specifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material previously designated as Protected
27 Material shall no longer be subject to any of the provisions of this Stipulation and
28 Order;
1 (c) Implicit Withdrawal by Publication or Failure to Oppose Challenge. A
2 Designating Party shall be construed to have withdrawn a “CONFIDENTIAL”
3 designation made to any specified Protected Material from all of the
4 provisions/protections of this Stipulated Protective Order by either (1) making such
5 Protected Material part of the public record – including but not limited to attaching
6 such as exhibits to any filing with the court without moving, prior to such filing, for
7 the court to seal such records; or (2) failing to timely oppose a Challenging Party’s
8 motion to remove a “CONFIDENTIAL” designation to specified Protected Material.
9 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
10 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
11 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
12 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
13 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
14 conditions prescribed in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
15 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
16 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
17 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
18 authorized under this Order.
19 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
20 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
21 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL”
22 only to:
23 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
24 as employees of such Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
25 information for this Action;
26 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
27 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
28
1 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
2 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
3 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
4 (d) the court and its personnel;
5 (e) court reporters and their staff;
6 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
7 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
8 signed the “ Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
9 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
10 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
11 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
12 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
13 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will
14 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
15 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
16 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
17 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
18 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
19 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
20 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
21 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
22 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
23 OTHER LITIGATION
24 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
25 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
26 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
27 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
28 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
1 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
2 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or
3 order is subject to Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this
4 Stipulated Protective Order; and
5 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by
6 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
7 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
8 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
9 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
10 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
11 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
12 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
13 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive
14 from another court.
15 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED
16 IN THIS LITIGATION
17 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
18 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced
19 by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
20 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting
21 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
22 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
23 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
24 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential
25 information, then the Party shall:
26 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
27 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
28 with a Non-Party;
1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
3 specific description of the information requested; and
4 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
5 Non-Party, if requested.
6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
7 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
8 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
9 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
10 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
11 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order
12 to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection
13 in this court of its Protected Material.
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 Stipulation and Order, the Receiving Party must immediately: (a) notify in writing the
18 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all
19 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to
20 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d)
21 request such person or persons execute the Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be
22 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
23 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
24 PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
26 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
27 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
28 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
1 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
2 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
3 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
4 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
5 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to
6 the court.
7 12. MISCELLANEOUS
8 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
9 person to seek modification by the Court in the future.
10 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
11 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
12 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
13 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
14 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
15 12.3 Filing of Protected Material. A party that seeks to file under seal any
16 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
17 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
18 Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is
19 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
20 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
21 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
22 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
23 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
24 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
25 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
26 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
27 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
28 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
1 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
2 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
3 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
4 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
5 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
6 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
7 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
8 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
9 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
10 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
11 (DURATION).
12 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures
13 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
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16 Dated: February 20, 2024 GASTÉLUM LAW, APC
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By: /s/Denisse O. Gastélum
18 Denisse O. Gastélum, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiffs,
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ESTATE OF MICHAEL VASQUEZ, et al.
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21 Dated: February 20, 2024 LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTIAN CONTRERAS
22 A Professional Law Corporation
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By: /s/Christian Contreras
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Christian Contreras, Esq.
25 Attorneys for Plaintiffs,
ESTATE OF MICHAEL VASQUEZ, et al.
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, DATED: February 20, 2024 LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP
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3 By: /s/Lilit Arabyan
TONY M. SAIN
4 LILIT ARABYAN
5 ABIGAIL J. R. MCLAUGHLIN
Attorneys for Defendant,
6 COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, e¢ al.
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8 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
9 || Dated: February 21, 2024
10 :
11
Hon. David T. BAgtow
3 United States Magistrate Judge
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that
5 I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued
6 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the
7 case of ___________ [insert formal name of the case and the number and initials
8 assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of
9 this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is
12 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
13 compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the
14 jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California for
15 the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
16 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
17 __________________________ [print or type full name] of
18 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and
19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
21 Order.
22 Date: ______________________________________
23 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
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25 Printed name: _______________________________
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Signature: __________________________________
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1 *Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(2), the filer attests that all signatories listed, and on
2 whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have
authorized the filing.
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