Leticia Sanchez v. County of Los Angeles

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: September 13, 2019
• Docket: 2:19-cv-04014
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 Thomas C. Hurrell, State Bar No. 119876 E-Mail: thurrell@hurrellcantrall.com 2 John V. McNulty, State Bar No. 290834 E-Mail: jmcnulty@hurrellcantrall.com 3 HURRELL CANTRALL LLP 300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 1300 4 Los Angeles, California 90071 Telephone: (213) 426-2000 5 Facsimile: (213) 426-2020

6 Attorneys for Defendants, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT and DEPUTY DEANNA BALLESTEROS 7

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION 10

11 LETICIA SANCHEZ, CASE NO.: 2:19-cv-04014-R (SKx) 12 Plaintiff, [Assigned to Hon. R. Gary Klausner, 13 Courtroom “850” ] v. 14 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 15 DEANNA BALLESTEROS, an ORDER individual deputy with the COUNTY 16 OF LOS ANGELES SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; and DOES 1 through 17 20, Inclusive,

18 Defendants.

20 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 21 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 22 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 23 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 24 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 25 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 26 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 27 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 1 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in 2 Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to 3 file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the 4 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 5 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 6 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 7 8 This action arises from allegations of misconduct by peace officers employed 9 by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (“LASD”) in conducting a search and 10 arrest of Plaintiff Leticia Sanchez (“Plaintiff”) on November 1, 2017. Plaintiff 11 alleges that this misconduct violated her constitutional rights. Prior to this lawsuit, 12 Plaintiff made complaints to LASD, which launched an internal investigation by the 13 LASD Internal Criminal Investigation Bureau (“ICIB”). The investigatory materials 14 generated by the ICIB are kept and maintained in confidence by the LASD and also 15 provided to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Accordingly, this 16 action will necessarily involve the disclosure of confidential and privileged 17 information regarding peace officers employed by LASD, which may include, but is 18 not limited to, the contents contained in the personnel files of LASD personnel, such 19 as personal contact information, disciplinary records, and information derived from 20 internal LASD investigations such as an investigation by the ICIB. Such 21 information concerning peace officers employed by LASD is protected from 22 disclosure by the constitutional and privacy rights of the peace officers, LASD’s 23 official information and deliberative process privileges, and California statutory law 24 governing the disclosure of peace officer personnel records, such as California 25 Penal Code § 832.5 and California Evidence Code § 1043(a). In addition, discovery 26 in this case may also subsume the privacy interests of third parties whose 27 constitutional and privacy interests may need protection given the ongoing nature of 1 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 2 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 3 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 4 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 5 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 6 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 7 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 8 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 9 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 10 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 11 12 2. DEFINITIONS 13 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit, bearing the case name of Leticia 14 Sanchez v. County of Los Angeles, et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-04014-R (SKx). 15 2.2 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the 16 designation of information or items under this Order. 17 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of 18 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 19 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 20 the Good Cause Statement. 21 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 22 their support staff). 23 2.5 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or 24 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 25 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 26 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless 27 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 1 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 2 2.7 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 3 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 4 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 5 2.8 House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 6 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 7 counsel. 8 2.9 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 9 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 10 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a 11 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 12 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 13 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 14 2.11 Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 15 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 16 support staffs). 17 2.12 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 18 Discovery Material in this Action. 19 2.13 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support 20 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 21 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 22 and their employees and subcontractors. 23 2.14 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 24 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 25 2.15 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 26 Material from a Producing Party. 27 1 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 2 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 3 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 4 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 5 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 6 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 7 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 8 9 4. DURATION 10 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as 11 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public 12 and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the 13 press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed 14 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City 15 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing 16 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from 17 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court 18 record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 19 commencement of the trial. 20 21 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 22 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 23 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 24 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 25 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 26 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 27 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items 1 within the ambit of this Order. 2 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 3 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 4 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 5 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 6 Party to sanctions. 7 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 8 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 9 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 10 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 11 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 12 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 13 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 14 produced. 15 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 16 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 17 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 18 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 19 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 20 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 21 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 22 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 23 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 24 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 25 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 26 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 27 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 1 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before 2 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 3 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 4 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 5 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 6 in the margins). 7 (b) for testimony given in depositions, the Designating Party must 8 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record before the close of the 9 deposition as to all protected testimony. 10 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 11 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 12 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 13 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information 14 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 15 protected portion(s). 16 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 17 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 18 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 19 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 20 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 21 Order. 22 23 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 24 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 25 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 26 Scheduling Order. 27 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 1 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 2 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 3 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 4 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 5 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 6 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 7 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 8 challenge. 9 10 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 11 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 12 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 13 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 14 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 15 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 16 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 17 DISPOSITION). 18 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 19 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 20 authorized under this Order. 21 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 22 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 23 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 24 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 25 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 26 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 27 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 1 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 2 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 3 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 4 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 5 (d) the court and its personnel; 6 (e) court reporters and their staff; 7 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 8 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 9 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 10 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or 11 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 12 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 13 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 14 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) 15 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 17 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 18 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 19 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 20 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 21 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel, 22 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 23 24 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 25 IN OTHER LITIGATION 26 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 27 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 1 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 2 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 3 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 4 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 5 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 6 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 7 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 8 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 9 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party 10 served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information 11 designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court 12 from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the 13 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and 14 expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in 15 these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving 16 Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 17 18 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROPOSED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 19 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 20 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 21 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 22 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 23 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 24 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 25 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 26 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 27 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 1 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 2 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 3 agreement with a Non-Party; 4 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 5 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 6 specific description of the information requested; and 7 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by 8 the Non-Party, if requested. 9 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court 10 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 11 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 12 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 13 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to 14 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the 15 court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 16 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 17 18 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 19 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 20 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 21 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 22 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 23 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 24 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 25 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 26 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A. 27 1 2 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 3 PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 5 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 6 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 7 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 8 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without 9 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar 10 as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 11 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 12 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 13 to the court. 14 15 12. MISCELLANEOUS 16 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 17 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 18 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 19 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 20 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 21 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 22 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 23 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 24 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 25 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 26 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 27 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 1 2 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 3 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 4 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 5 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 6 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 7 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 8 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 9 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 10 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 11 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 12 destroyed and (2)affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 13 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 14 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 15 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 16 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 17 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 18 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 19 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 20 Section 4 (DURATION). 21 22 14. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 23 The parties further acknowledge, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order 24 does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 25 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be 26 applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 27 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 1 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 2 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 3 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), MakarWelbon v. Sony Electrics, 4 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999). The parties’ mere designation of 5 Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not – without the 6 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 7 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 8 protectable – constitute good cause. 9 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 10 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 11 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 12 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For 13 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced 14 under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, 15 supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. 16 Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal 17 must be provided by declaration. 18 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 19 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 20 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 21 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, 22 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 23 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 24 25 15. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 26 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 27 sanctions. 1| IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSKY/ OPREC □□□ 2

5 6|| DATED: //9 Lexy Attorneys for Defendant 9 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 10 11||DATED: _ September 13, 2019 _ Se □ g Honorable Steve Kim 13 United States Magistrate Judge

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

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 Stipulated Protective Order that 7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California 8 on [date] in the case of ___________ [insert formal name of the case and the 9 number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be 10 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 11 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 12 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 13 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 14 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. I 15 further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 16 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or 19 type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or type 20 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in 21 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this 22 Stipulated Protective Order. 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 26 Printed name: _______________________________ 27