Matthew Newells v. County of Los Angeles
Matthew Newells v. County of Los Angeles
Trial Court Opinion
1 || Brian K. Stewart, Esq. (State Bar No. 126412) 2 ||Erin R. Dunkerly, Esq. (State Bar No. 260220) Rebecca E. Hunter, Esq. (State Bar No. 271420) || COLLINS COLLINS MUIR + STEWART LLP 4 1100 El Centro Street South Pasadena, CA 91030 5 || (626) 243-1100 — FAX (626) 243-1111 6 || Email: [email protected] Email: edunkerly @ccmslaw.com 7 ||Email: [email protected] 8 Attorneys for Defendants 9 ||COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES; LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S 10 || DEPARTMENT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 12 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 13 14 || MATTHEW NEWELLS; TEVYE ) CASE NO. 2:19-cv-08384 SVW(JCx) NGUYEN; T.N., a minor by and ) [Assigned to District Judge Stephen V. 15 through Guardian ad Litem, Matthew ) Wilson in Courtroom I0A] 16 || Newells; M.N., a minor by and through ) Guardian ad Litem, Matthew Newells; ) MODIFIED PROTECTIVE ORDER Te 17 ) PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL 18 Plaintiffs, ) INFORMATION ) 19 vs. ) [CHANGES MADE BY COURT TO 20 ) PARAGRAPH NO. 4 NUMBERING COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES; LOS ) AND CURRENT PARAGRAPH 21 || ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S _ ) NOS. 4, 4a, 4c, 4j, 41, 4m, 6] 22 || DEPARTMENT; UNIDENTIFIED _ ) DEPUTIES; and DOES | through 100, ) Complaint Filed: 03/05/19 23 || inclusive, ) 24 ) Trial Date: 08/04/20 Defendants. ) 25 ) 26 ) 27 28 || 2195
1 Based upon the stipulation of the parties and GOOD CAUSE APPEARING, IT 2 ||IS ORDERED THAT pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26(c), the 3 || following information is protected and precluded from publication as follows: 4 1. Vehicle pursuit training information and evaluations contained in the 5 personnel files of DEPUTY GEORGE HANLEY, DEPUTY SCOTT SHEAN, 6 ||DEPUTY CESAR VILANOVA and DEPUTY WILLIAM WARNER, or any other 7 ||deputy which is confidential and has not been made public, including any and all 8 || citizen’s complaints and/or complaints, reviews, or discipline initiated by other law 9 ||enforcement personnel within the last five years that assert any of the following 10 allegations: regarding vehicle pursuit training and evaluations of tactics and/or 11 || conduct. 12 2. Information contained in the investigation reports into vehicle pursuit 13 || training and evaluations, which are confidential and have not been made public. 14 3. Good cause exists for issuance of a protective order pursuant to Federal 15 ||Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 26(c) to facilitate the production of documents and 16 ||information responsive to the discovery requests of Plaintiffs and to balance the 17 privacy interests and protection of information afforded to law enforcement officers 1g || in the state of California including DEPUTY GEORGE HANLEY, DEPUTY SCOTT 19 || SHEAN, DEPUTY CESAR VILANOVA and DEPUTY WILLIAM WARNER that 29 || DEFENDANTS contend is statutorily deemed confidential and protected by 31 || California Evidence Code section 1040 et seq., the privilege for official information » (Sanchez v. City of Santa Ana,
936 F.2d 1027, 1033(9th Cir. 1990)), California Penal 3 Code section 832.5 et seg., and California Evidence Code sections 1043 and 1045. || Good cause further exists because if this confidential information were made public in this proceeding, it could allow for misuse of the peace officer personnel information 26 and other official information in other judicial and administrative proceedings. Additionally, all named deputies are currently active peace officers, some or all of 28 whom regularly work in the field; therefore, if this confidential information were | 20 ,
1 || made public, the information could be misused in ways that endanger the lives of the 2 || officers and their families, or interfere with their law enforcement duties. 3 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT: 4 4. The information and/or documentation referred to in paragraphs | and 2 5 above will be referred to collectively as the “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.” 6 ||The CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be released to PLAINTIFFS’ counsel 7 || for purposes of litigation in this matter only. The CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 8 || shall be used in this litigation as follows: 9 a. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be used solely in 10 connection with this litigation and the preparation of this case, or 11 any related appellate proceeding, and not for any other purpose, 12 including any other litigation or administrative proceedings. 13 Further, PLAINTIFFS’ Counsel shall not share the actual personnel 14 files with PLAINTIFFS although counsel may discuss information 15 obtained from those documents with PLAINTIFFS. 16 b. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION produced in this action may be 17 designated by DEFENDANTS by marking each page of the 18 document(s) with a stamp stating “CONFIDENTIAL”. 19 c. Testimony taken at a deposition may be designated as confidential 20 by making a statement to that effect on the record at the deposition 21 or other proceeding. Arrangements shall be made with the court 22 reporter taking and transcribing such proceeding to separately bind 23 such portions of the transcript containing information designated as 24 confidential, and to label such portions appropriately. To the extent 25 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is the subject of testimony at a 26 court hearing or trial, its treatment shall be determined by the 27 presiding judge. This Order does not govern the use of 28 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION during a court hearing or trial. | 20 .
1 d. Atany time after receipt of documents labeled “CONFIDENTIAL,” 2 PLAINTIFFS may provide DEFENDANTS with a written 3 objection to the classification of specific documents as 4 “CONFIDENTIAL” and the basis for PLAINTIFFS’ objection. 5 Upon receipt of such written objection, the DEFENDANTS shall 6 provide a written response to PLAINTIFFS within three business 7 days. If the DEFENDANTS do not agree with the position of 8 PLAINTIFFS, the PLAINTIFFS shall have the option of 9 proceeding with a discovery motion, pursuant to Local Rule 37 et 10 seq., contesting the confidential nature of the disputed documents. il The parties shall comply with the meet and confer requirements of 12 Local 37 et seg. prior to the filing of any such motion. The 13 DEFENDANTS. shall bear the burden of establishing the 14 confidential nature of the disputed documents. 15 e. Under no- circumstances’ shall the CONFIDENTIAL 16 INFORMATION, or the information contained therein, be retained, 17 compiled, stored, used as a database, or disseminated, in any form, 18 except for purposes of this litigated matter in accordance with this 19 Protective Order or by further order of the Court. 20 f. DEFENDANTS reserve all objections, including but not limited to 21 the following objections: on grounds that particular documents are 22 CONFIDENTIAL by the attorney-client privilege and/or the 23 attorney work product doctrine; official information privilege; are 24 not likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, and as 25 such are not relevant to the causes of action raised by this lawsuit 26 under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26(a)(1)(A)(B); and 27 all remedies under the code, including the rnght to recess the 28 deposition to bring a protective order before the Court. | 20
1 g. PLAINTIFFS reserve all rights and remedies under the Federal 2 Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence 3 pertaining to discovery. 4 h. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION and the information contained 5 therein may not be disclosed, except as set forth in paragraph □□□□ 6 below. 7 1. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION may only be disclosed to the 8 following persons: i. Counsel for PLAINTIFFS. 10 ii. Paralegal, law clerk, stenographic, clerical, and secretarial i personnel regularly employed by counsel referred to in 12 paragraph 4(i)(i) above. 13 ii. Court personnel, including stenographic reporters, necessary 14 for the preparation and processing of this action. 15 iv. Any expert or consultant retained in the instant case. 16 vy. Any individual approved by the Court. 7 vi. PLAINTIFFS shall be authorized to review CONFIDENTIAL 18 INFORMATION, subject to the limitations set forth in 19 paragraph 4(a). 20 j. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall not be divulged to any 21 other person or entities, including the print, radio, television, or any 22 other media absent a Court order. 23 k. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall not be posted on the 24 internet or on any website. 25 1. If CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is included in any papers to 26 be filed in Court, such papers shall be labeled “Confidential — 27 Subject to Court Order’ and shall be submitted for filing under seal 28 in accordance with Local Rule 79-5. 2
1 m. In the event that any of the CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is 2 used in any Court proceeding in this action, it shall not lose its 3 confidential status through such use, and the party using 4 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall take all reasonable steps 5 to maintain its confidentiality during such use, including but not 6 limited to redaction and/or the submission of documents for filing 7 under seal in accordance with Local Rule 79-5. 8 n. Nothing in paragraph 4(e) is intended to prevent authorized 9 government officials for the County of Los Angeles or the Los 10 Angeles County Sheriff's Department from having access to the i documents if they had access in the normal course of their job 12 duties. 13 5. PLAINTIFFS, PLAINTIFFS’ Counsel, DEFENDANTS, and 14 || DEFENDANTS’ Counsel shall cause the substance of this Protective Order to be 15 |icommunicated to each person to whom CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is 16 revealed and/or disseminated and shall obtain agreement to abide by the Protective 17 || Order from each such person. 18 6. After completion of the judicial process in this case, including any 19 |! appeals or other termination of this litigation, all CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 20 |) received under the provisions of this Order and copies — other than CONFIDENTIAL 21 || INFORMATION and copies in the possession of the Court/Court personnel -- shall 22 |!be destroyed or returned to the attorneys of record for DEFENDANTS, Collins 23 || Collins Muir + Stewart LLP, 1100 El Centro Street, South Pasadena, CA 91030. This 24 |) case shall be completed when (i) a final judgment has been entered by the Court or 25 |! the case has otherwise been dismissed with prejudice; (ii) the time for any objection 26 |/to or request for reconsideration of such a judgment or dismissal has expired; (iii) all 27 |! available appeals have concluded or the time for such appeals has expired; and 28 |! //
1 || (iv) any post appeal proceedings have themselves concluded. The provisions of this 2 || Order shall be in effect until further order of this Court. 3 7. Any counsel, expert, or consultant retained in the instant case or |linvestigator retained by counsel for any party to this case, shall not disclose the 5 ||CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION or the information contained therein in to any 6 |) other persons or entities for any reason, nor in any other court proceeding subject to 7 || further order of this Court. 8 8. Provisions of this Order insofar as they restrict disclosure and the use of 9 |) material shall be in effect until further order of this Court. 10 9. For good cause, any party may seek a modification of this Order, by first 11 || attempting to obtain the consent of the other parties to such modification, and then, 12 || absent consent, by application to this Court. 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 ||DATED: March 18, 2020 15 /s/ 16 Hon. Jacqueline Chooljian 17 United States Magistrate Judge 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 20
Reference
- Status
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