Garcia v. City of Farmersville

District Court, E.D. California·Decided July 12, 2021·No. 1:21-cv-00482·Unknown

Opinion

Randy H. McMurray, Esq. (SBN:126888) Email: rmcmurray@law-mh.com Yana G. Henriks, Esq. (SBN: 250638) Email: yhenriks@law-mh.com Lauren I. Freidenberg, Esq. (SBN: 312428) Email: lfreidenberg@law-mh.com McMURRAY HENRIKS, LLP 811 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1640 Los Angeles, California 90017 Telephone: (323) 931-6200 Facsimile: (323) 931-9521 Attorneys for Plaintiffs UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MARIA ELENA GARCIA, an individual; Case No.: 1:21-CV-00482-NONE-EPG ADRIEANA GARCIA, an individual; C.G., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem ** DISCOVERY MATTER ** Maria Elena Garcia; S.G., a minor by and through her guardian ad litem Maria Elena Garcia; J.G., a minor by and through her STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER guardian ad litem Maria Elena Garcia; and GLORIA GARCIA; an individual, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF FARMERSVILLE, a California municipal entity; TULARE COUNTY, a California municipal entity; CITY OF VISALIA, a California municipal entity; OFFICER EDUARDO CARRILLO, an individual; OFFICER DIEGO CORONA, an individual; OFFICER JEREME BROGAN, an individual; OFFICER PAULINO MANZANO, an individual; SERGEANT RALPH VASQUEZ, JR., an individual; LIEUTENANT JAY BROCK, an individual; SERGEANT CARDENAS, an individual; DEPUTY MATTHIAS HERNANDEZ, an individual; DEPUTY TAYLOR HOBSON, an individual; DEPUTY S. JAJYO, an individual; DEPUTY JASON KENNEDY, an individual; and DOES 1-100, inclusive, Defendants. On July 9, 2021, the parties filed a Stipulated Protective Order. (ECF No. 37.) This is the second proposed stipulated protective order the parties filed. On June 28, 2021, the parties filed a first proposed protective order, which the Court denied as not complying with Eastern District of California Local Rule 141.1(c). (ECF Nos. 35-36.) That rule provides that every proposed protective order contain the following provisions: “(1) [a] description of the types of information eligible for protection under the order, with the description provided in general terms sufficient to reveal the nature of the information (e.g., customer list, formula for soda, diary of a troubled child); (2) [a] showing of particularized need for protection as to each category of information proposed to be covered by the order; and (3) [a] showing as to why the need for protection should be addressed by a court order, as opposed to a private agreement between or among the parties.” E.D. Cal. L.R. 141.1(c) (paragraph breaks omitted). The revised stipulation largely complies with Local Rule 141.1(c). However, when describing the types of information eligible for protection, which Local Rule 141.1(c)(1) requires, the revised stipulation includes the language “[s]uch confidential materials and information consist of, among other things . . . information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.” (ECF No. 37 at 3.) This catchall language does not comply with Local Rule 141.1(c)(1). The Court has revised the protective order to exclude this language but otherwise enters the protective order proposed by the parties. IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and among the parties hereto, through their respective counsel of record as follows: The parties acknowledge that all information is presumptively public. See Civil Local Rule 131.1 (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 26). Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential and/or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section XIII(C), below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT This action is likely to involve confidential and private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such information may implicate the privacy interests of the parties and are properly protected through a Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) protective order. See Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 35 n.21 (1984) (“Rule 26(c) includes among its express purposes the protection of a ‘party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression or undue burden or expense.’ Although the Rule contains no specific reference to privacy or to other rights or interests that may be implicated, such matters are implicit in the broad purpose and language of the Rule.”); Soto v. City of Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603, 617 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (a party’s privacy rights are to be protected through a “carefully crafted protective order.”). Such confidential materials and information consist of law enforcement investigatory records, personnel records, security procedures and information regarding law enforcement/correctional activities and/or facilities, medical records, and information implicating privacy rights of third parties. Specifically, defendants contend that records regarding investigations into the death of decedent are exempt from public disclosure under state law pursuant to Penal Code § 832.7 and Government Code § 6254(f) and not subject to the exceptions enacted by SB 1421 and made part of Penal Code § 832.7(b)(1), because decedent’s death was not a result of a use of force by any officer. Moreover, personnel records of peace officers other than the investigation into decedent’s death in this case are likely to be the subject of discovery – notwithstanding any other objections to disclosure/production of such records, peace officer personnel records are protected by state statute under Penal Code § 832.7 and constitutional privacy protections. Furthermore, because some of the facts and circumstances involved in the incident took place at a jail facility, some of the information and documents that are likely to be subject to discovery include the layouts and procedures of the jail, including videos depicting secure areas of the jail facility, and policies/procedures regarding booking and screening of inmates, the public disclosure of which implicates and would tend to undermine the ongoing secure operations of the jail. Such records are also expressly exempt from public disclosure under state law pursuant to Government Code § 6254(f). In addition, information regarding other arrestees/inmates, particularly including medical intake/screening process and information, may be relevant to the claims and defenses in this case, such as Plaintiffs’ Monell pattern/practice claims. Such information implicates the medical privacy rights of those third parties. Accordingly, although Plaintiffs dispute the extent to which the foregoing categories of documents should remain confidential during discovery, the parties hereby otherwise agree, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are

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