Jay Stevens v. County of Los Angeles

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: December 31, 2024
• Docket: 2:24-cv-06054
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10 JAY STEVENS, BRIANA ORTEGA, CASE NO.: 2:24-cv-06054-DSF-JC ELIJAH ORTEGA, MARIAH ORTEGA, 11 and MARISSA ORTEGA, [Assigned to: Hon. Dale S. Fischer, United States District Judge; 12 Plaintiffs, Hon. Jacqueline Chooljian, United States Magistrate Judge] 13 vs. [DISCOVERY MATTER] 14 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, municipal STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 15 entity; ADAM NELSON, an individual, SHAWN MERRICK, an individual, [CHANGES MADE BY COURT 16 JUSTIN MASRI, an individual; TO PARAGRAPHS 2.1, 3, 8, 9] RICHARD MENDOZA, an individual; 17 DOES 1-10 inclusive,

18 Defendants.

19 20 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 21 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, 22 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 23 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, 24 the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 25 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 26 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 27 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 1 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective 2 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 3 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied 4 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 5 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 6 Defendant County of Los Angeles (“Defendant”) contends that there is good cause 7 and a particularized need for a Protective Order to preserve the interests of 8 confidentiality and privacy in peace officer personnel file records and associated 9 investigative or confidential records for the following reasons. First, Defendant contends 10 that peace officers have a federal privilege of privacy in their personnel file records: a 11 reasonable expectation of privacy therein that is underscored, specified, and arguably 12 heightened by the Pitchess protective procedure of California law. See Sanchez v. Santa 13 Ana Police Dept., 936 F.2d 1027, 1033-1034 (9th Cir. 1990); Hallon v. City of Stockton, 14 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14665, *2-3, 12-13 (E.D. Cal. 2012) (concluding that “while 15 “[f]ederal law applies to privilege based discovery disputes involving federal claims,” 16 the “state privilege law which is consistent with its federal equivalent significantly 17 assists in applying [federal] privilege law to discovery disputes”); Soto v. City of 18 Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603, 613 n. 4, 616 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (peace officers have 19 constitutionally-based “privacy rights [that] are not inconsequential” in their police 20 personnel records); cf. Cal. Penal Code §§ 832.7, 832.8; Cal. Evid. Code §§ 1040-1047. 21 Defendant further contend that uncontrolled disclosure of such personnel file 22 information can threaten the safety of non-party witnesses, officers, and their 23 families/associates. 24 Second, Defendant contends that municipalities and law enforcement agencies 25 have federal deliberative-executive process privilege, federal official information 26 privilege, federal law enforcement privilege, and federal attorney-client privilege (and/or 27 attorney work product protection) interests in the personnel files of their peace officers – particularly as to those portions of peace officer personnel files that contain critical 1 self-analysis, internal deliberation/decision-making or evaluation/analysis, or 2 communications for the purposes of obtaining or rendering legal advice or analysis – 3 potentially including but not limited to evaluative/analytical portions of Internal Affairs 4 type records or reports, evaluative/analytical portions of supervisory records or reports, 5 and/or reports prepared at the direction of counsel, or for the purpose of obtaining or 6 rendering legal advice. See Sanchez, 936 F.2d at 1033-1034; Maricopa Audubon Soc’y 7 v. United States Forest Serv., 108 F.3d 1089, 1092-1095 (9th Cir. 1997); Soto, 162 8 F.R.D. at 613, 613 n. 4; Kelly v. City of San Jose, 114 F.R.D. 654, 668-671 (N.D. Cal. 9 1987); Tuite v. Henry, 181 F.R.D. 175, 176-177 (D. D.C. 1998); Hamstreet v. Duncan, 10 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89702 (D. Or. 2007); Admiral Ins. Co. v. United States Dist. Ct., 11 881 F.2d 1486, 1492, 1495 (9th Cir. 1988). Defendant further contends that such 12 personnel file records are restricted from disclosure by the public entity’s custodian of 13 records pursuant to applicable California law and that uncontrolled release is likely to 14 result in needless intrusion of officer privacy; impairment in the collection of third-party 15 witness information and statements and related legitimate law enforcement 16 investigations/interests; and a chilling of open and honest discussion regarding and/or 17 investigation into alleged misconduct that can erode a public entity’s ability to identify 18 and/or implement any remedial measures that may be required. 19 Third, Defendant contends that, since peace officers do not have the same rights 20 as other private citizens to avoid giving compelled statements, it is contrary to the 21 fundamental principles of fairness to permit uncontrolled release of officers’ compelled 22 statements. See generally Lybarger v. City of Los Angeles, 40 Cal.3d 822, 828-830 23 (1985); cf. U.S. Const., amend V. 24 Accordingly, Defendant contends that, without a Protective Order preventing 25 such, production of confidential records in the case can and will likely substantially 26 impair and harm Defendant County of Los Angeles’ public entity’s interests in candid 27 self-critical analysis, frank internal deliberations, obtaining candid information from witnesses, preserving the safety of witnesses, preserving the safety of peace officers and 1 peace officers’ families and associates, protecting the privacy officers of peace officers 2 and preventing pending investigations from being detrimentally undermined by 3 publication of private, sensitive, or confidential information – as can and often does 4 result in litigation. 5 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 6 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect 7 information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are 8 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the 9 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends 10 of justice, Defendant contends that a protective order for such information is justified in 11 this matter. 12 Plaintiffs also believe there is good cause for a protective order with respect to 13 categories of documents he may be asked to produce, including, but not limited to 14 medical and psychological records, financial records, employment records, and private 15 communications between and amongst family members and the Plaintiffs. 16 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential 17 for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it 18 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why 19 it should not be part of the public record of this case. Protected Material shall not include 20 (a) advertising materials published or intended to be published to the general public; 21 (b) materials that on their face show that they have been published to the general public; 22 or, (c) documents that have been submitted to any government entity without request for 23 confidential treatment, with the exception of personally identifiable information, 24 documents that are protected by the attorney-client privilege and/or work product 25 doctrine. 26 The parties therefore stipulate that there is Good Cause for, and hereby jointly 27 request that the honorable Court issue/enter, a Protective Order re confidential documents consistent with the terms and provisions of this Stipulation. 1 However, the entry of a Protective Order by the Court pursuant to this Stipulation 2 shall not be construed as any ruling by the Court on the aforementioned legal statements 3 or privilege claims in this section (§ 1), nor shall this section be construed as part of any 4 such Court Order. 5 2. DEFINITIONS 6 2.1 Action: Jay Stevens et al. vs County of Los Angeles, et al., Case No.: 2:24- 7 cv-06054-DSF-JC (formerly LASC Case No. 24STCV04765). 8 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 9 information or items under this Order. 10 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how 11 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 12 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 13 Statement. 14 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 15 support staff). 16 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 17 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 18 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 19 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among 20 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated 21 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 22 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 23 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an 24 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 25 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 26 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 27 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 1 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to 2 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 3 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has 4 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 5 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 6 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 7 support staffs). 8 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 9 Discovery Material in this Action. 10 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 11 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 12 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 13 their employees and subcontractors. 14 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 15 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 16 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 17 from a Producing Party. 18 3. SCOPE 19 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 20 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 21 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 22 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 23 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material other than during a court hearing or at trial. 24 Any use of Protected Material during a court hearing or at trial will be governed 25 by the orders of the presiding judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected 26 Material during a court hearing or at trial. 27 /// /// 1 4. DURATION 2 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as 3 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will be 4 presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 5 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made 6 to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 7 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for 8 sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when 9 merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this 10 protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 11 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 12 imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise 13 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition will be deemed to be the 14 later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; 15 and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, 16 rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing 17 any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 18 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 19 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 20 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order 21 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the 22 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those 23 parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so 24 that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which 25 protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 26 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that 27 are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., 1 to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary 2 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 3 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 4 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 5 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 6 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 7 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or 8 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order 9 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 10 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 11 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but 12 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the 13 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter 14 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a 15 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party 16 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 17 in the margins). 18 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need 19 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which 20 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the 21 designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be deemed 22 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 23 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions 24 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified 25 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page 26 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 27 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the 2 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all 3 protected testimony. 4 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 5 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior 6 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 7 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 8 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected 9 portion(s). 10 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 11 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 12 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon 13 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to 14 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 15 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 16 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 17 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling 18 Order. 19 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute resolution 20 process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 21 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on the 22 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., 23 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 24 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn 25 the confidentiality designation, all parties will continue to afford the material in question 26 the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation 27 until the Court rules on the challenge. 1 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 3 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action 4 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected 5 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 6 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must 7 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 8 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 9 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 10 authorized under this Order. 11 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 12 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party 13 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 14 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as 15 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 16 disclose the information for this Action; 17 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 18 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 19 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure 20 is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 21 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 22 (d) the Court and its personnel; 23 (e) court reporters and their staff; 24 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors 25 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 26 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 27 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 1 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 2 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 3 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will 4 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 5 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed 6 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition 7 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 8 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 9 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 10 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually 11 agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 12 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 13 OTHER LITIGATION 14 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 15 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 16 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 17 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 18 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 19 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 20 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 21 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include a 22 copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 23 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 24 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 25 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the 26 subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this action as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission or unless 1 otherwise required by the law or court order. The Designating Party will bear the burden 2 and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing 3 in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party 4 in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 5 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED 6 IN THIS LITIGATION 7 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non- 8 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced 9 by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 10 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting 11 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 12 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce 13 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an 14 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, 15 then the Party will: 16 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that 17 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a 18 Non-Party; 19 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective 20 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific 21 description of the information requested; and 22 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 23 Party, if requested. 24 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days 25 of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce 26 the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the 27 Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement 1 with the Non-Party before a determination by the court unless otherwise required by the 2 law or court order. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the 3 burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 4 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 7 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing 8 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 9 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 10 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request 11 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 12 that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 13 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 14 PROTECTED MATERIAL 15 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 16 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the 17 obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 18 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be 19 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege 20 review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach 21 an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by 22 the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their 23 agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 24 12. MISCELLANEOUS 25 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 26 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 27 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 1 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 2 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground 3 to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 4 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 5 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 6 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 7 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is 8 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 9 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 10 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 11 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days 12 of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all 13 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 14 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 15 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 16 Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must 17 submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or 18 entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, 19 where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) 20 affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, 21 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 22 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all 23 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 24 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and 25 consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. 26 Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to 27 this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). /// 1 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal contempt 2 proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary authorities, or 3 other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 4 5 IT IS SO ORDERED AS MODIFIED. 6 7 DATED: December 31, 2024 ___________/s/______________ Honorable Jacqueline Chooljian 8 United States Magistrate Judge 9 10 11

12 13 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 4 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of 5 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury 6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Protective Order that was issued by 7 the United States District Court for the Central District of California on December 31, 8 2024 in the case of Jay Stevens et al. vs County of Los Angeles, et al., Case No.: 2:24- 9 cv-06054-DSF-JC (formerly LASC Case No. 24STCV04765). I agree to comply with 10 and to be bound by all the terms of this Protective Order and I understand and 11 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in 12 the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 13 information or item that is subject to this Protective Order to any person or entity 14 except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for 16 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Protective 17 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I 18 hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 19 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and 20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this 21 action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Protective Order. 22 Date: ______________________________________ 23 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 24 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 27 Signature: __________________________________