M.H. v. City of San Bernardino

District Court, C.D. California·Decided September 29, 2020·No. 5:20-cv-00242·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

M.H., a minor by and through his Case No.: 20-cv-00242-JCB-KK guardian ad litem Nakitta Yuong, [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE Plaintiff, ORDER GOVERNING MINOR PLAINTIFF’S MEDICAL AND v. MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS

CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO, a California municipal entity; COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO, a California municipal entity; PAUL CARRANZA, an individual’ CHRIS JOHNSON, an individual; JOAQUIN LARIOS, an individual; KERIE BROWN, an individual, and DOES 5-50, inclusive,

Defendants.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, following stipulation of counsel, that the following protective order shall govern certain documents designated as confidential in this case: proprietary, 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 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 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. Plaintiff and defendant may produce certain documents in this case that contain personal medical, employment or financial information. Such information may implicate the privacy interests of the parties and are properly protected through a Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) protective order. 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.”). On March 10, 2019, Sokhom Hon was shot by a San Bernardino Police Department police officer. In this case Plaintiff has alleged claims of excessive force and misconduct, against San Bernardino Police Department, and its agents, employees, and/or contractors, including but not limited to, Officer Paul Carranza, Officer Kerrie Brown, Officer Joaquin Larios, and Sergeant Johnson, for excessive force, thereby resulting in the death of Decedent, Sokhom Hon. In connection with these claims, Defendants have subpoenaed medical facilities and/or documents from health-care providers for medical and mental health records pertaining to Plaintiff, M.H., a minor, by and through his guardian ad litem Nakitta Yuong—the biological son of Decedent, Sokhom Hon. The parties stipulated to limit the scope of said records to medical and mental health records, documents, and/or reports, for the following time frame: 2013 through the present. The parties submit that good cause exists to enter the proposed protective order to balance minor Plaintiff’s right to privacy, which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, 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 entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 1. DEFINITIONS 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit entitled M.H. v. City of San Bernardino, et al, case number 20-cv-00242-JCB-KK. 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information or items under this Order. 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff). 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs). 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action. 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing Party. 3. SCOPE The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 4. DURATION Even

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M.H. v. City of San Bernardino, (C.D. Cal. 2020).

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