Estate of Joshua Garbutt v. County of Trinity

• Court: District Court, E.D. California
• Decided: March 3, 2025
• Docket: 2:24-cv-01275
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 Mark E. Merin (State Bar No. 043849) Paul H. Masuhara (State Bar No. 289805) 2 LAW OFFICE OF MARK E. MERIN 1010 F Street, Suite 300 3 Sacramento, California 95814 4 Telephone: (916) 443-6911 Facsimile: (916) 447-8336 5 E-Mail: mark@markmerin.com paul@markmerin.com 6

7 Attorneys for Plaintiffs ESTATE OF JOSHUA GARBUTT, 8 STACY POHLMEYER, and BRIAN GARBUTT 9 Gregory B. Thomas (SBN 239870) 10 E-mail: gthomas@bwslaw.com 11 Jackson D. Morgus (SBN 318453) E-mail: jmorgus@bwslaw.com 12 BURKE, WILLIAMS & SORENSEN, LLP 1999 Harrison Street, Suite 1650 13 Oakland, California 94612-3520 Tel: 510.273.8780 Fax: 510.839.9104 14

15 Attorneys for Defendants COUNTY OF TRINITY, TRINITY COUNTY 16 SHERIFF’S OFFICE, TIM SAXON, DOUGLAS CRAIG, MICHAEL NOVAK, 17 MAX MUCKLOW, MICHAEL WOODSON, MARK BAUMAN, MICHAEL COINER- 18 WILSON, NICHOLAS MARTINELLI, 19 NICHOLAS RUCKER, and DOMINQUE CALLAWAY 20 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 21 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 22 SACRAMENTO DIVISION 23 ESTATE OF JOSHUA GARBUTT, et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-01275-DMC 24 Plaintiffs, STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER 25 RE: INTERNAL AFFAIRS REPORT; vs. 26 ORDER COUNTY OF TRINITY, et al., 27 Defendants. 28 1 STIPULATION 2 The Estate of Joshua Garbutt, Stacy Pohlmeyer, and Brian Garbutt (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) and 3 the County of Trinity, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, Tim Saxon, Douglas Craig, Michael Novak, Max 4 Mucklow, Michael Woodson, Mark Bauman, Michael Coiner-Wilson, Nicholas Martinelli, Nicholas 5 Rucker, and Dominque Callaway (collectively, “Defendants”) stipulate to the following. 6 A. PURPOSE AND LIMITATION 7 Defendants believe that the disclosure and discovery activity concerning the materials described 8 in this stipulated protective order is likely to involve production of information for which protection from 9 public disclosure would be warranted. Plaintiffs have not been permitted to view the materials described 10 in this stipulated protective order and, thus, are unable to form an opinion as to whether protection is 11 appropriate. The Parties acknowledge that this protective order does not confer blanket protections on all 12 disclosures or discovery activity, and that the protection it affords extends only to the limited information 13 or items that are entitled to such protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). The Parties 14 further acknowledge that this stipulated protective order does not entitle any party to file information 15 designated as protected or confidential under seal, where Local Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that 16 must be followed and reflects the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the 17 Court to file material under seal. 18 B. DEFINITIONS 19 The following definitions shall apply to this Protective Order: 20 1. The “Action” shall mean and refer to the above-captioned matter and to all actions now or 21 later consolidated with the Action, and any appeal from the Action and from any other action 22 consolidated at any time under the above-captioned matter, through final judgment. 23 2. “Documents” or “Confidential Documents” shall mean the documents that Defendants 24 designate as “Confidential” and described in Section C. 25 3. “Confidential” shall mean information designated “Confidential” pursuant to this 26 stipulated protective order. Information designated “Confidential” shall be information that is determined 27 in good faith by the attorneys representing the designating party to be subject to protection pursuant to 28 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). Confidential documents, material, and/or information shall be 1 used solely for purposes of litigation. Such Confidential information may be disclosed only to the 2 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. Confidential information shall not 3 be used by the non-designating party for any business or other purpose, unless agreed to in writing by all 4 parties to this action or as authorized by further order of the Court. 5 4. “Plaintiffs” shall mean the Estate of Joshua Garbutt, Stacy Pohlmeyer, and Brian Garbutt. 6 5. “Defendants” shall mean the County of Trinity, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, Tim 7 Saxon, Douglas Craig, Michael Novak, Max Mucklow, Michael Woodson, Mark Bauman, Michael 8 Coiner-Wilson, Nicholas Martinelli, Nicholas Rucker, and Dominque Callaway. 9 6. “Parties” shall mean Plaintiffs and Defendants, collectively, as identified above. 10 C. INFORMATION COVERED 11 Covered Information: 12 Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(1), a description of the information eligible for protection under 13 this stipulated protective order is limited to the following (except to the extent that the information is 14 otherwise available to the public or subject to disclosure, including pursuant to California Penal Code § 15 832.7): 16 1. The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office’s internal affairs (“IA”) report relating to the in- 17 custody death Joshua Garbutt. 18 Particularized Need for Protection: 19 Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(2), Defendants assert that there exists a specific, particularized 20 need for protection as to the information covered by this stipulated protective order. Defendants represent 21 to the Court and Plaintiffs that the materials designated to be covered by this stipulated protective order 22 are limited solely to those which would qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 26(c), and does not include information designated on a blanket or indiscriminate basis. See, e.g., In Re 24 Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland, 661 F.3d 417, 424 (9th Cir. 2011). 25 Showing of Need for a Protective Order: 26 Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(3), protection afforded by this stipulated protective order is for 27 the convenience of Defendants and the Court. Defendants seek to avoid litigation and expenditure of 28 resources concerning a potential motion for protective order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1 26(c). The entry of this stipulated protective order may prevent the Parties and the Court from conducting 2 the usual document-by-document analysis necessary to obtain protection, in favor of a procedure 3 whereby presumptive protection is afforded based on Defendants’ good faith representations of the need 4 for protection. See, e.g., Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 785 F.2d 1108, 1122 (3d Cir. 1986) (“[T]he 5 burden of justifying the confidentiality of each and every document sought to be covered by a protective 6 order remains on the party seeking the protective order; any other conclusion would turn Rule 26(c) on 7 its head.”). As a result, production may be made with this stipulated protective order in place and, if 8 necessary, it will permit discrete and narrowed challenges to documents designated for protection. 9 D. TERMS OF THE PROTECTIVE ORDER 10 Confidential Documents subject to protection may be designated as “Confidential” and produced 11 subject to this stipulated protective order: 12 1. The Parties will designate the Confidential documents as confidential by affixing a mark 13 labelling them “Confidential.” 14 2. The Confidential documents may only be disclosed to the following persons: 15 a. Plaintiffs, Mark E. Merin and Paul H. Masuhara of the Law Office of Mark E. 16 Merin, and any partners and associates in that office; 17 b. Defendants, and Gregory B. Thomas and Jackson D. Morgus of Burke, Williams 18 & Sorensen, LLP, and any partners and associates in that office; 19 c. Paralegal, clerical, and secretarial personnel or support staff regularly employed by 20 counsel referred to in subparts (a) and (b) immediately above, including stenographic deposition 21 reporters or videographers retained in connection with this action; 22 d. Court personnel, including stenographic reporters or videographers engaged in 23 proceedings as are necessarily incidental to the preparation for the trial in the civil action; 24 e. Any expert, consultant, or investigator retained in connection with this action; who 25 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 26 f. The finder of facts at the time of trial, subject to the court’s rulings on in limine 27 motions and objections of counsel; and 28 g. Witnesses during their depositions in this action. If confidential documents are 1 used in the deposition, the documents must be identified as “Confidential” and the portion of the 2 deposition in which the documents are described should also be considered confidential. 3 3. Information covered by this stipulated protective order does not automatically entitle the 4 Parties to file such information or documents with the Court under seal. Any request to seal documents is 5 governed by Local Rule 141. If the Confidential documents are filed with any motion or other pleading, a 6 party may seek permission from the Court to file the Confidential Documents under seal according to 7 Local Rule 141. If permission is granted, the Confidential documents will be filed and served in 8 accordance with Local Rule 141. 9 4. The designation of the Confidential documents as “Confidential” and the subsequent 10 production thereof is without prejudice to the right of any party to oppose the admissibility of the 11 Confidential documents or information contained therein. 12 5. Any party or non-party may challenge a Confidential designation at any time. A party or 13 non-party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a 14 challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed. The challenging party shall initiate the 15 dispute resolution process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and 16 describing the basis for each challenge. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith 17 and must begin the process by conferring directly (in person or voice-to-voice dialogue; other forms of 18 communication are not sufficient) within seven (7) days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the 19 challenging party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper 20 and must give the designating party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the 21 circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen designation. 22 A challenging party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it has engaged in this 23 meet and confer process first or establishes that the designating party is unwilling to participate in the 24 meet and confer process in a timely manner. If the parties cannot resolve a challenge without Court 25 intervention, the designating party shall file and serve a motion for protective order/to retain 26 confidentiality pursuant Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and Local Rule 251 within twenty-one 27 (21) days of the initial notice of challenge or within seven (7) days of the parties agreeing that the meet 28 and confer process will not resolve their dispute, whichever is earlier. Failure by the designating party to 1 make such a motion within twenty-one (21) days (or seven (7) days, if applicable) shall automatically 2 waive the “Confidential” designation for each challenged designation. In addition, the challenging party 3 may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause for doing 4 so. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the designating party, 5 consistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). Unless the designating party has waived the 6 confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion for protective order/to retain confidentiality as 7 described above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to 8 which it is entitled under the designating party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 9 6. Should the Confidential documents or any information contained therein be disclosed, 10 through inadvertence or otherwise, to any person not authorized to receive it under this stipulated 11 protective order, the disclosing person(s) shall promptly (a) inform counsel for the Defendants of the 12 recipient(s) and the circumstances of the unauthorized disclosure to the relevant producing person(s) and 13 (b) use best efforts to bind the recipient(s) to the terms of this stipulated protective order. 14 7. The Confidential documents shall not lose its confidential status because it was 15 inadvertently or unintentionally disclosed to a person not authorized to receive it under this stipulated 16 protective order. 17 8. The protections conferred by this stipulated protective order cover the information defined 18 above, as well as (1) any information copied or extracted from Confidential documents; (2) all copies, 19 excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Confidential documents; and (3) any testimony, conversations, 20 or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Confidential documents. However, the 21 protections conferred by this stipulated protective order do not cover: (A) any information that is in the 22 public domain at the time of disclosure or which subsequently becomes part of the public domain after its 23 disclosure, including becoming part of the public record through trial or otherwise; and (B) any 24 information known prior to the disclosure or obtained after the disclosure from a source who obtained the 25 information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality. 26 9. This stipulated protective order shall remain in full force and effect and shall continue to 27 be binding on all parties and affected persons until this litigation terminates, subject to any subsequent 28 modifications of this stipulated protective order for good cause shown by this Court or any Court having 1 jurisdiction over an appeal of this action. Upon termination of this litigation, the Parties agree the 2 stipulated protective order shall continue in force as a private agreement between the Parties. 3 10. The Parties may request additional records to be subject to this stipulated protective order. 4 If a Party believes a document to be produced should be subject to this stipulated protective order, the 5 parties must meet and confer. If there is agreement, the Parties shall submit an amendment to this 6 stipulated protective order to identify the additional documents. If the Parties cannot agree, the Party 7 seeking protection shall file a motion for protective order pursuant to the terms of Local Rule 251. 8 14. During the pendency of this lawsuit, the Court may (a) make such amendments, 9 modifications, and/or additions to this stipulated protective order as deemed appropriate upon good cause 10 shown; and (b) adjudicate any dispute arising under it. 11 IT IS SO STIPULATED. 12 Dated: February 24, 2025 Respectfully Submitted, LAW OFFICE OF MARK E. MERIN 13 /s/ Mark E. Merin 14 By: __________________________________ 15 Mark E. Merin 16 Paul H. Masuhara

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 17 ESTATE OF JOSHUA GARBUTT, 18 STACY POHLMEYER, and BRIAN GARBUTT 19 Dated: February 24, 2025 Respectfully Submitted, BURKE, WILLIAMS & SORENSEN, LLP 20 /s/ Jackson D. Morgus 21 (as authorized on February 24, 2025) 22 By: __________________________________ Gregory B. Thomas 23 Jackson D. Morgus

24 Attorneys for Defendants COUNTY OF TRINITY, TRINITY COUNTY 25 SHERIFF’S OFFICE, TIM SAXON, DOUGLAS CRAIG, MICHAEL NOVAK, 26 MAX MUCKLOW, MICHAEL WOODSON, MARK BAUMAN, MICHAEL COINER- 27 WILSON, NICHOLAS MARTINELLI, 28 NICHOLAS RUCKER, and DOMINQUE 1 ORDER 2 The parties’ stipulation is GRANTED. 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 5 Dated: March 3, 2025 Seo DENNIS M. COTA 7 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4938-0324-5085 v2

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ ____________ 4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand 5 the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District 6 of California on _______________ [date] in the case of Estate of Garbutt v. County of Trinity. (E.D. Case 7 No. 2:24-cv-01275-DMC). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 8 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions 9 and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 10 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict 11 compliance with the provisions of this Order. 12 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Eastern 13 District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such 14 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. 15 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 16 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as my 17 California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to 18 enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 19 20 Date: ______________________________________ 21 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 22 23 Printed name: _______________________________ 24 25 Signature: __________________________________ 26 27 28