Brandon Henderson v. City of Los Angeles

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: April 2, 2025
• Docket: 2:24-cv-10938
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 BRANDON HENDERSON, CASE NO. 2:24-cv-10938-MEMF-Ex Hon. Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong– Ctrm. 8B 12 Hon. Charles F. Eick– Ctrm. 750

13 Plaintiff, [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE 14 v. ORDER

15 16 CITY OF LOS ANGELES, et al,

17 Defendants.

18 19

20 21 1. INTRODUCTION 22 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 23 Discovery in this action may involve production of confidential, proprietary, or 24 private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for 25 any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the 26 Parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 27 Protective Order. The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 1 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 2 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are 3 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The Parties 4 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3 below, that this Order does not entitle 5 them to file Confidential Information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the 6 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a Party 7 seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. 8 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 9 In light of the nature of the claims and allegations in this case and the parties’ 10 representations that discovery in this case may involve the production of confidential 11 records (including but not limited to employment/personnel records1 and information2 12 of individually named Defendants and/or other employees of the City). In addition, 13 Defendants anticipate conducting discovery as to any potential criminal history of 14 Plaintiff, which may include disclosure of sealed, confidential or otherwise sensitive 15 information. Further, information sought by the parties may include confidential or 16 privileged materials relating to law enforcement operations. In order to expedite the 17 flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality 18 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 19 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such 20 material in connection with this action, to address their handling of such material at the 21 end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 22 information is justified in this matter. The parties shall not designate any 23 information/documents as confidential without a good faith belief that such 24 25 1 “Government personnel files are considered official information.” Sanchez v. City of Santa Ana (9th Cir.1990) 936 F.2d 1027, 1033; Miller v. Pancucci(C.D. Cal. 1992) 141 F.R.D. 292, 299. 26 2 See Ochoa v. McDonald’s Corp., 2015 WL 3545921, at *2 (N.D. Cal. 27 June 5, 2015), in which the court granted a request to seal specified documents to the extent they reflected employee numbers/identification. 1 information/documents have been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 2 that there is good cause or a compelling reason why it should not be part of the public 3 record of this case. 4 2. DEFINITIONS 5 2.1 Action: Brandon Henderson v. City of Los Angeles et al., USDC Case No. 6 2:24-CV-10938-MEMF-Ex. 7 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Nonparty that challenges the designation of 8 information or items under this Order. 9 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it 10 is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 11 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and as specified above in the Good Cause 12 Statement. [Note: any request for a two-tiered, attorney-eyes-only protective order 13 that designates certain material as “Highly Confidential” requires a separate, 14 detailed showing of need.] 15 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 16 support staff). 17 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Nonparty that designates information or items 18 that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 19 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the 20 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among 21 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated 22 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 23 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 24 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an 25 expert witness or as a consultant in this action. 26 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action. House 27 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 1 2.9 Nonparty: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other 2 legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 3 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a Party to 4 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party and have appeared in this 5 Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on 6 behalf of that Party, including support staff. 7 2.11 Party: any Party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 8 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 9 support staffs). 10 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Nonparty that produces Disclosure or Discovery 11 Material in this Action. 12 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 13 support services (for example, photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing 14 exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or 15 medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 16 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 17 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 18 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 19 from a Producing Party. 20 3. SCOPE 21 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 22 Material (as defined above) but also any information copied or extracted from Protected 23 Material; all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and 24 any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might 25 reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the 26 orders of the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at 27 trial. 1 4. DURATION 2 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 3 imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise 4 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition is the later of (1) 5 dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice, or (2) 6 final judgment after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, 7 trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or 8 applications for extension of time under applicable law. 9 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 10 5.1 Each Party or Nonparty that designates information or items for protection 11 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 12 qualifies under the appropriate standards. To the extent practicable, the Designating 13 Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or 14 oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 15 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not 16 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 17 Indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are 18 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (for 19 example, to unnecessarily encumber the case-development process or to impose 20 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 21 to sanctions. 22 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items it 23 designated for protection do not qualify for that level of protection, that Designating 24 Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable 25 designation. 26 5.2 Except as otherwise provided in this Order, Disclosure or Discovery Material 27 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the 1 Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following: 2 (a) for information in documentary form (for example, paper or electronic 3 documents but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 4 proceedings), the Producing Party must affix at a minimum the legend 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or 6 portions of the material on a page qualify for protection, the Producing Party should to 7 the extent practicable clearly identify the protected portion(s) (for example, by making 8 appropriate markings in the margins). 9 A Party or Nonparty that makes original documents available for inspection need 10 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which 11 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the 12 designation, all material made available for inspection must be treated as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 14 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions 15 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified 16 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page 17 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 18 qualify for protection, the Producing Party should to the extent practical clearly identify 19 the protected portion(s) (for example, by making appropriate markings in the margins). 20 (b) for testimony given in depositions, the Designating Party must identify the 21 Disclosure or Discovery Material that is protected on the record, before the close of the 22 deposition. 23 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 24 other tangible items, the Producing Party must affix in a prominent place on the exterior 25 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 26 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrant protection, 27 the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, must identify the protected portion(s). 1 5.3 If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information 2 or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure 3 protection under this Order for that material. On timely correction of a designation, the 4 Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in 5 accordance with the provisions of this Order. 6 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 7 6.1 Any Party or Nonparty may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any 8 time consistent with the Court’s scheduling order. 9 6.2 The Challenging Party must initiate the dispute-resolution process (and, if 10 necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37. 11 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such proceeding is on the Designating Party. 12 Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (for example, to harass 13 or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), may expose the 14 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn 15 the confidentiality designation, all parties must continue to afford the material in 16 question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s 17 designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 18 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 19 7.1 A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or produced 20 by another Party or by a Nonparty in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, 21 defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed 22 only to the categories of people and under the conditions described in this Order. When 23 the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of 24 Section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored and 25 maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a manner sufficiently secure to 26 ensure that access is limited to the people authorized under this Order. 27 1 7.2 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the 2 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 3 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to the following people: 4 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as 5 employees of that Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 6 disclose the information for this Action; 7 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 8 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 9 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure 10 is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 11 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 12 (d) the Court and its personnel; 13 (e) court reporters and their staff; 14 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors 15 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 17 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 18 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 19 (h) during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses to whom 20 disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided that the deposing party requests that the 21 witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto and the witnesses will not be 22 permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the form, unless 23 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed 24 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 25 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 26 permitted under this Order; and 27 1 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually 2 agreed on by any of the Parties engaged in settlement discussions or appointed by the 3 Court. 4 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 5 OTHER LITIGATION 6 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 7 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 8 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must 9 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification must 10 include a copy of the subpoena or court order unless prohibited by law; 11 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 12 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or 13 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification must include a copy of this 14 Order; and 15 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by 16 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 17 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the 18 subpoena or court order should not produce any information designated in this action as 19 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination on the protective-order request by the 20 relevant court unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 21 Designating Party bears the burden and expense of seeking protection of its 22 Confidential Material, and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 23 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 24 directive from another court. 25 9. A NONPARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED 26 IN THIS LITIGATION 27 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Nonparty 1 the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 2 construed as prohibiting a Nonparty from seeking additional protections. 3 (b) In the event that a Party is required by a valid discovery request to produce a 4 Nonparty’s Confidential Information in its possession and the Party is subject to an 5 agreement with the Nonparty not to produce the Nonparty’s Confidential Information, 6 then the Party must 7 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Nonparty that 8 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a 9 Nonparty; 10 (2) promptly provide the Nonparty with a copy of this Order, the relevant 11 discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information requested; 12 and 13 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 14 Nonparty, if requested. 15 (c) If the Nonparty fails to seek a protective order within 21 days of receiving the 16 notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Nonparty’s 17 Confidential Information responsive to the discovery request. If the Nonparty timely 18 seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party must not produce any information in its 19 possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Nonparty 20 before a ruling on the protective-order request. Absent a court order to the contrary, the 21 Nonparty must bear the burden and expense of seeking protection of its Protected 22 Material. 23 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 24 If a Receiving Party learns that by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 25 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 26 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately notify the Designating Party in writing of 27 the unauthorized disclosures, use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of 1 were made of the terms of this Order, and ask that person or people to execute the 2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 3 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 4 PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 6 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the 7 obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 8 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 9 12. MISCELLANEOUS 10 12.1 Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its 11 modification by the Court. 12 12.2 By stipulating to the entry of this Order, no Party waives any right it 13 otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on 14 any ground not addressed in this Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object 15 on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Order. 16 12.3 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply 17 with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may be filed under seal only pursuant to 18 a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a 19 Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied, then the Receiving Party 20 may file the information in the public 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 all 24 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 1 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that identifies (by category, 2 when appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and affirms 3 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, 4 summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 5 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all 6 pleadings; motion papers; trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts; legal memoranda; 7 correspondence; deposition and trial exhibits; expert reports; attorney work product; 8 and consultant and expert work product even if such materials contain Protected 9 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain 10 subject to this Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 11 /// 12 /// 13 /// 14 /// 15 /// 16 /// 17 /// 18 /// 19 /// 20 /// 21 /// 22 /// 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 1 14. SANCTIONS 2 Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal 3 contempt, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary authorities, or 4 other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 5 6 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 7 8 Dated: April 2, 2025 Kirakosian Law APC 9 By: /s/ Gregory Levon Kirakosian 10 Gregory Levon Kirakosian Attorney for Plaintiff, Brandon Henderson 11 12 13 Dated: April 2, 2025 HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO, City Attorney DENISE C. MILLS, Chief Deputy City Attorney 14 KATHLEEN KENEALY, Chief Assistant City Attorney 15 CORY M. BRENTE, Senior Assistant City Attorney 16 By: _/s/ Sasha O. Lazarevich 17 SASHA O. LAZAREVICH, Deputy City Attorney 18 Attorneys for Defendants, CITY OF LOS ANGELES, OFFICER ANTHONY SORIANO, and OFFICER MARCO 19 MUNOZ 20 21 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 22 23 April 2, 2025 /s/ Charles F. Eick DATED: ______________ ____________________________________ 24 HON. CHARLES F. EICK 25 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 26 27 1 ATTESTATION RE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES 2 3 Pursuant to Local Rule 5 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I attest that the other signatories listed, 4 and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have 5 authorized the filing. 6 Dated: April 2, 2025 HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO, City Attorney 7 DENISE C. MILLS, Chief Deputy City Attorney 8 KATHLEEN KENEALY, Chief Assistant City Attorney CORY M. BRENTE, Senior Assistant City Attorney 9 10 By: _/s/ Sasha O. Lazarevich 11 SASHA O. LAZAREVICH, Deputy City Attorney Attorneys for Defendants, CITY OF LOS ANGELES, 12 OFFICER ANTHONY SORIANO, and OFFICER MARCO 13 MUNOZ 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ 4 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and 5 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the U.S. District Court 6 for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of Brandon Henderson v. City 7 of Los Angeles, et al, Case No. 2:24-CV-10938-MEMF-Ex. I agree to comply with and 8 to be bound by all terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and 9 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment, 10 including contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 11 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or 12 entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the 14 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 15 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 16 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full 17 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and 18 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 19 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 20 Order. 21 Date: ______________________________________ 22 City and State where signed: _________________________________ 23 Printed name: _______________________________ 24 Signature: __________________________________ 25 26 27