C.G. v. Redding Christian School

Opinion

Jay T. Jambeck SBN #226018 1 jjambeck@leighlawgroup.com 2 Mandy G. Leigh SBN # 225748 mleigh@leighlawgroup.com 3 Damien B. Troutman SBN # 286616 dtroutman@leighlawgroup.com 4 LEIGH LAW GROUP 870 Market Street, Suite 1157 5 San Francisco, CA 94102 6 Telephone: 415-399-9155 Facsimile: 415-795-3733 7 Attorney for Plaintiff 8 C.G. (a minor)

9 Patrick L. Deedon, State Bar No.: 245490 10 John R. Powell, State Bar No. 320187 MAIRE & DEEDON 11 2851 Park Marina Dr., #300 Post Office Drawer 994607 12 Redding, California 96099-4607 13 (530) 246-6050 I 246-6060 (fax) pdeedon@maire-law.com 14 jpowell@maire-law.com

15 Attorneys for Defendant REDDING CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 16

17 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

18 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

19 C.G. (a minor), by and through his Case No.: 2:19-cv-00348-MCE-DMC Parents and Guardians ad Litem, 20 DONALD and WENDY GRAHAM, 21 STIPULATION AND PROTECTIVE ORDER Plaintiff, 22 v. 23 REDDING CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, and 24 DOES 1-30, inclusive, 25 Complaint Filed: February 26, 2019 Defendant. 26 TO THE COURT AND ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD: 1

2 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED and agreed by and between counsel for the parties that, 3 upon the Court’s approval, the terms and conditions of a Stipulated Protective Order should be 4 entered as follows: 5 1. The Stipulated Protective Order entered by the Court (the “Court’s Order”) shall be 6 applicable to and govern all depositions, documents produced in response to requests for 7 production of documents, answers to interrogatories, responses to requests for admissions, and 8 all other discovery taken pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as all 9 10 documents produced by either party in response to informal discovery requests, testimony, 11 matters in evidence, and computerized records (collectively, “RECORDS”) which the disclosing 12 party designates as “CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL” pursuant to this Stipulation and the Court’s 13 Order, directly or indirectly by or on behalf of any party in connection with this action. 14 2. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(1), the types of information eligible for protection 15 include evidence of medical and/or mental health treatment Plaintiff, a minor, underwent as a 16 17 result of the events at issue in the above-captioned matter, as well as educational records of 18 Plaintiff and/or other minor students (e.g., academic, disciplinary, and/or special education) that 19 are protected by state and federal student privacy laws, e.g., the Family Educational Rights and 20 Privacy Act (“FERPA”). 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(4)(A) (providing privacy protections for 21 educational records that “contain information directly related to a student” and “are maintained 22 by an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution.”). 23 3. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(2), there is a need to protect this type of evidence. 24 25 Potentially discoverable information is subject to balancing when constitutionally protected 26 rights of privacy of implicated. See e.g., Breed v. United States Dist. Court, 542 F.2d 1114, 1116 (9th Cir. 1976). Moreover, the parties seek protection to prevent disclosure on the public docket 1 2 of Plaintiff’s mental health, particular because he is a minor, and educational records protected 3 by FERPA. 4 4. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(3), the parties seek a Protective Order, as opposed to 5 entering into a private agreement, because the proposed Order provides mechanisms for the 6 resolution of disputes and the handling of designated evidence that involve the Court. 7 5. In designating RECORDS as “CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL,” a party shall make such 8 a designation only for RECORDS which that party in good faith believes contain information 9 10 related to child trauma and/or emotional distress as related to minor plaintiff(s) in this action. 11 RECORDS designated as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL shall be used solely for the purpose of 12 conducting this litigation and not for any other purpose. 13 6. CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL may be disclosed only to the following persons: 14 a. the attorneys working on this action on behalf of any party, including inhouse 15 litigation attorneys; 16 17 b. any paralegal assistants, stenographic and clerical employees working under the 18 direct supervision of such counsel, with disclosure only to the extent necessary to 19 perform their work in connection with this matter; 20 c. any person not employed by a party who is expressly retained or sought to be retained 21 by any attorney described in paragraph 6(a) to assist in preparation of this action for 22 trial, with disclosure only to the extent necessary to perform such work; 23 d. any witnesses who appear for deposition or trial in this matter, and their counsel of 24 25 record, during the course of their testimony, upon the witness being advised of the 26 need and agreeing to keep the RECORDS confidential; e. any party to the action, including their representative and insurance carrier. Any such 1 2 individual shall be provided with a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order and agree 3 to be bound by the same prior to receiving any CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL; and 4 f. the Court. 5 7. The persons described in paragraph 6(d) shall have access to the CONFIDENTIAL 6 MATERIAL records once they have been made aware of the provisions of the Court’s Order and 7 have manifested their assent to be bound thereby by signing a copy of the annexed 8 “ACKNOWLEDGMENT.” Upon request, a list shall be prepared by counsel for the parties 9 10 hereto of the names of all such persons to whom CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL is disclosed, or 11 to whom the information contained therein is disclosed, and such list shall be available for 12 inspection by the Court and opposing counsel. The other persons described in paragraph 6 shall 13 have access to the CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL pursuant to the terms of the Court’s Order 14 without signing a copy of the annexed “ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.” Upon request, similar but 15 separate lists shall also be prepared with respect to CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL provided by 16 17 third parties. The persons receiving RECORDS designated as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL 18 are enjoined from disclosing it to any other person, except in conformance with the Court’s 19 Order. This Stipulation will not require the disclosure of experts other than by Local Rule, 20 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, and/or Court Order. 21 8. Each individual who receives any RECORDS designated as CONFIDENTIAL 22 MATERIAL hereby agrees to subject himself/herself to the jurisdiction of this Court for the 23 purpose of any proceedings relating to the performance under, compliance with or violation of 24 25 the Court’s Order. 26 9. The recipient of any RECORDS designated as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL that is 1 2 provided under the Court’s Order shall maintain such RECORDS in a secure and safe area and 3 shall exercise the same standard of due and proper care with respect to the storage, custody, use 4 and/or dissemination of such RECORDS as is exercised by the recipient with respect to its own 5 proprietary information. 6 10. Parties shall designate RECORDS as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL as follows: 7 a. In the case of RECORDS produced pursuant to Rules 26 and 34 of the Federal Rules 8 of Civil Procedure, interrogatory answers, responses to requests for admissions, and 9 10 the information contained therein, designation shall be made by placing the following 11 legend on any such RECORD prior to production: “CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL.” 12 In the event that a party was unable to stamp or otherwise designate a RECORD as 13 CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL at the time of its production, that party may, within 14 twenty-one (21) days of becoming able to designate such RECORD, so stamp or 15 otherwise designate the RECORD. In the event that a party inadvertently fails to 16 17 stamp or otherwise designate a RECORD as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL at the 18 time of its production, that party may, after discovery of such error, so stamp or 19 otherwise designate the RECORD. 20 b. In the case of depositions, designation of the portion of the transcript (including 21 exhibits) which contains CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL shall be made by a 22 statement to such effect on the record in the course of the deposition or, upon review 23 of such transcript by counsel for the party to whose CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL 24 25 the deponent has had access, said counsel shall designate within twenty-one (21) days 26 after counsel’s receipt of the transcript or the entry of this order, whichever is later. c. Transcripts of depositions will not be filed with the Court unless it is necessary to do 1 2 so for purposes of trial, motions for summary judgment, or other matters, and when 3 filed, the parties shall comply with paragraph 12 below. 4 11. A party shall not be obligated to challenge the propriety of a CONFIDENTIAL 5 MATERIAL designation at the time made, and failure to do so shall not preclude a subsequent 6 challenge thereto. In the event that any party to this litigation disagrees at any stage of these 7 proceedings with such designation, such party shall provide to the producing party written notice 8 of its disagreement with the designation. The parties shall first try to dispose of such dispute in 9 10 good faith on an informal basis. If the dispute cannot be resolved, the party challenging the 11 designation may request appropriate relief from the Court. 12 12. In the event that any CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL is to be used in any court 13 proceedings in connection with this litigation, the parties shall request an Order from the Court 14 seeking to seal the documents pursuant to Local Rule 141. If any CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL 15 is used in any court proceedings in connection with this litigation it shall not lose its 16 17 CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL status through such use, and the parties shall take all steps 18 reasonably required to protect its confidentiality during such use. 19 13. Nothing in the Court’s Order shall preclude any party to the lawsuit, their attorneys or 20 any other person from disclosing or using, in any manner or for any purpose, any RECORDS not 21 obtained in this lawsuit, if such RECORDS are lawfully obtained from a third party, even though 22 the same RECORDS may have been produced in discovery in this lawsuit and designated as 23 CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL. 24 25 14. Nothing in the Court’s Order shall preclude any party to the lawsuit or their attorneys (a) 26 from showing RECORDS designated as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL to an individual who either prepared or reviewed the RECORDS prior to the filing of this action, or (b) from 1 2 disclosing or using, in any manner or for any purpose, RECORDS from the party’s own files 3 which the party itself has designated as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL. 4 15. Within sixty (60) days of the termination of litigation between the parties, all RECORDS 5 designated as CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL, and all copies thereof, except such copies which 6 have been filed with the Court, utilized in accordance with the Court’s Order, or which are and 7 will continue to be maintained in a secure place pursuant to the continuing obligations of the 8 Court’s Order, shall be returned to the party which produced it or shall be destroyed. 9 10 16. Except as specifically provided herein, the terms, conditions and limitations of the 11 Court’s Order shall survive the termination of this action at the option of the designating party. 12 17. The Court’s Order is without prejudice to the right of any party to seek relief from the 13 Court, upon good cause shown, from any of the provisions contained in paragraphs 1 through 18, 14 inclusive hereof. 15 16 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 17 Respectfully submitted, 18

Date: November 25, 2019 LEIGH LAW GROUP, P.C. 19

/s/ Damien B. Troutman 20 DAMIEN B. TROUTMAN Attorney for Plaintiff C.G. 21

22 Date: November 25, 2019 MAIRE & DEEDON

23 /s/ Patrick L. Deedon PATRICK L. DEEDON 24 Attorney for Defendant REDDING CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 25

26 1 ORDER 2 | IT ISSO ORDERED. It is further Ordered that any individual receiving records as provided in Paragraph 8 above shall, in advance of receipt of such records, be provided wit 3 ||a copy of this Stipulation and Protective Order, as notice of the terms and conditions of 4 receiving such confidential documents.

Dated: December 3, 2019 DENNIS M. COTA 8 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE ORDER Case No.: 2:19-cv-00348-MCE-DMC

ACKNOWLEDGMENT 1

2 The undersigned hereby acknowledges that he/she has read the Protective Order which 3 was entered by the Court on ________________, 2019, C.G. v. Redding Christian School, 4 2:19-cv-00348-MCE-DMC, that he/she is one of the persons contemplated in paragraph 6 above 5 as authorized to receive disclosure of RECORDS designated CONFIDENTIAL by any of the 6 parties or by third parties, and that he/she fully understand and agrees to abide by the obligations 7 and conditions of the Protective Order. The undersigned further consents to be subject to the 8 jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California for purposes 9 10 of any proceedings relating to performance under, compliance with or violation of the above- 11 described Order. 12

13 Dated: ______________, 20___ __________________________________ 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26