Tamika Fair v. County of Los Angeles

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: January 28, 2020
• Docket: 2:19-cv-05574
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 Thomas C. Hurrell, State Bar No. 119876 E-Mail: thurrell@hurrellcantrall.com 2 Erin K. Hoar, State Bar No. 311332 E-Mail: ehoar@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 and DEPUTY DANIEL SANDOVAL (erroneously sued as Deputy Sandoval) 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION 11 12 TAMIKA FAIR, an individual, CASE NO. 2:19-cv-05574-DSF-AGR 13 Plaintiff, [Assigned to Hon. Dale S. Fischer, Courtroom “7D”] 14 v. 15 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, a PROTECTIVE ORDER public entity; DEPUTY SANDOVAL, GOVERNING PRODUCTION OF 16 an individual; and DOES 1 through 10, “CONFIDENTIAL” inclusive, INFORMATION 17 Defendants. 18 19 I. PURPOSE AND LIMITATIONS 20 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential or 21 private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 22 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 23 Accordingly, the Court hereby enters the following Protective Order (hereafter “this 24 Order”). The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 25 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 26 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or 27 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 1 II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 2 This action is likely to involve confidential information pertaining to 3 personnel records and other materials subject to privacy protections for which 4 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 5 prosecution of this action is warranted. Limiting disclosure of these documents to 6 the context of this litigation as provided herein will, accordingly, further important 7 law enforcement objectives and interests, including the safety of personnel and the 8 public, as well as individual privacy rights of Plaintiff, Deputy Sandoval, individuals 9 likely to be named in the future, and third parties. Such confidential materials and 10 information consist of, among other things, materials entitled to privileges and/or 11 protections under the following: the United States Constitution, First Amendment; 12 the California Constitution, Article I, Section 1; California Penal Code §§ 832.5, 13 832.7, and 832.8; California Evidence Code §§ 1040 and 1043 et seq.; the Privacy 14 Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a; Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 15 of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191, decisional law relating to such provisions; 16 and information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 17 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, 18 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Defendants also contend that such 19 confidential materials and information consist of materials entitled to the Official 20 Information Privilege. 21 Confidential information with respect to the Defendants may include but is 22 not be limited to: personnel files; internal investigative files and documents; email 23 and written correspondence records; and policies and procedures that are kept from 24 the public in the ordinary course of business, as well as other items subject to the 25 Official Information Privilege and other privileges. Confidential information with 26 respect to the Plaintiff may include but is not be limited to: employment and 27 financial records; email and written correspondence records; and psychological and 1 and treatment plans. 2 The parties reserve the right to challenge a designation of confidentiality 3 pursuant to the terms set forth under Paragraph 8 of this Order. 4 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 5 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 6 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 7 parties are permitted to reasonably use such material in preparation for and in 8 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the 9 ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It 10 is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for 11 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it 12 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause 13 why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 14 III. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 15 SEAL 16 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this 17 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil 18 Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will 19 be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 20 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 21 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 22 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 23 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 24 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 25 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders 26 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling 27 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with 1 designation of material as “CONFIDENTIAL” does not— without the submission 2 of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be 3 filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable— 4 constitute good cause. Further, if a party requests sealing related to dispositive 5 motion or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must 6 be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific 7 interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 8 (9th Cir. 2010). 9 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 10 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 11 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 12 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, 13 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 14 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 15 IV. DEFINITIONS 16 4.1 Action: Tamika Fair v. COLA, et al. (2:19-cv-05574-DSF-AGR) 17 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 18 of information or items under this Order. 19 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of 20 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible 21 things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and 22 as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 23 4.4 Counsel: General Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 24 their support staff). 25 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designated information or 26 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 1 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 2 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 3 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 4 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 5 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 6 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 7 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action 8 (e.g. members of County Counsel). House Counsel does not include General 9 Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 10 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 11 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 12 4.10 General Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 13 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 14 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 15 that has appeared on behalf of that party, as well as their support staff. 16 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 17 employees, consultants, retained experts, and General Counsel of Record (and their 18 support staffs). 19 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that makes a Disclosure or 20 produces Discovery Material in this Action. 21 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 22 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 23 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 24 and their employees and subcontractors. 25 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 26 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 27 4.15 Producing Party: a Party that makes a Disclosure or produces 1 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives a Disclosure or Discovery 2 Material from a Producing Party. 3 V. SCOPE 4 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as 5 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected 6 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; 7 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel (as 8 defined by Sections 4.8 and 4.10) that might reveal Protected Material. 9 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 10 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 11 VI. DURATION 12 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 13 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 14 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 15 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 16 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 17 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F. 3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause: 18 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 19 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 20 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of trial. 21 In the event that this case does not proceed to trial, the confidentiality 22 obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until the dismissal of all 23 claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice. 24 VII. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 26 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection 27 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material 1 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or 2 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 3 documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not 4 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 5 Mass, indiscriminate, or routine designations are prohibited. Designations 6 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 7 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 8 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 9 Party to sanctions. 10 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 11 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 12 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 13 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 14 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 7.2(a) below), or as otherwise 15 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 16 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 17 produced. 18 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 19 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 20 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 21 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 22 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 23 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 24 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 25 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 26 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 27 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 1 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 2 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 3 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 4 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, 5 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 6 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 7 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 8 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 9 in the margins). 10 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies 11 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 12 deposition all protected testimony. 13 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 14 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 15 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 16 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 17 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 18 portion(s). 19 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 20 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 21 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 22 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 23 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 24 Order. 25 VIII. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 26 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 27 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 1 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the meet and 2 confer process outlined in Local Rule 37.1, et seq. 3 8.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 4 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 5 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 6 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 7 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 8 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 9 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 10 challenge. 11 IX. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 13 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 14 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 15 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 16 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 17 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section VI, infra. 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 9.2 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 General Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 26 as employees of said General Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 27 to disclose the information for this Action; 1 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,” attached to the parties’ stipulation 5 and hereafter referred to as “Exhibit A.” 6 (d) the court and its personnel; 7 (e) court reporters and their staff; 8 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 9 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 10 signed Exhibit A. 11 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 12 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 13 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 14 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 15 requests that the witness sign Exhibit A; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep 16 any confidential information unless they sign Exhibit A, unless otherwise agreed by 17 the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition 18 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 19 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 20 under this Order; and 21 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 22 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 23 X. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 24 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 25 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 26 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 1 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 2 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 3 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 4 subpoena or order is subject to this Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 5 this Order; and 6 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 7 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 8 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 9 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 10 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 11 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 12 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 13 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 14 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 15 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 16 XI. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 17 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 18 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 19 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 20 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 21 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 22 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 23 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 24 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 25 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 26 confidential information, then the Party shall: 27 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 1 agreement with a Non-Party; 2 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of this Order in this 3 Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of 4 the information requested; and 5 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 6 Party, if requested. 7 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 8 fourteen (14) days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the 9 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive 10 to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the 11 Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is 12 subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination 13 by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the 14 burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 15 XII. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 17 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 18 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating 19 Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 20 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 21 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) 22 request such person or persons to execute Exhibit A. 23 XIII. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 24 PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 26 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 27 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 1 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 2 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 3 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 4 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 5 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in a subsequent 6 stipulation to the court. 7 XIV. MISCELLANEOUS 8 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 9 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 10 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 11 Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or 12 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Order. 13 Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of 14 any of the material covered by this Order. 15 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 16 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 17 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 18 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 19 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 20 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 21 XV. FINAL DISPOSITION 22 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section VI, supra, 23 within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party 24 must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. 25 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 26 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 27 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 1 || not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 2 ||(1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 3 || returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 4 ||copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 5 || capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel 6 ||are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, 7 || deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition 8 || and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert 9 || work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 10 || copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Order as 11 || set forth in Section VI, supra. 12 || XVI. VIOLATION 13 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 14 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 15 16 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 DATED: January 28, 2020 19 Wiad A Keenbng, 21 HON. ALICIA G.ROSENBERG sits United States Magistrate Judge 23 24 25 26 27 28

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 5 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated 6 Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central 7 District of California in the case of Tamika Fair v. COLA, et al., Case No. (2:19-cv- 8 05574-DSF-AGR). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this 9 Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I 11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that 12 is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict 13 compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the 14 jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California 15 for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement 16 proceedings occur after termination of this action. 17 18 Date: _________________________________ 19 20 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 21 22 Printed name: _________________________________ 23 24 Signature: _________________________________ 25 26 27