Carlos Lozano v. Wellpath LLC

United States District Court for the Central District of California

Carlos Lozano v. Wellpath LLC

Trial Court Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 CARLOS LOZANO, DECEASED, by ) Case No. 2:21-cv-03153 FLA (DFMx) and through his Co-Successors in ) 12 Interest, OSCAR PUENTES, ) Honorable Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha 13 i Gn Udi Tv Iid Eu Ra Rll Ey, Z a ,n id n dK ivA idR uL aA lly , ) ) ) 14 ) DISCOVERY MATTER Plaintiffs, ) 15 ) vs. ) Hon. Douglas F. McCormick 16 ) WELLPATH LLC, a Delaware limited ) 17 liability company; CALIFORNIA ) PROTECTIVE ORDER FORENSIC MEDICAL GROUP, INC. ) 18 dba WELLPATH, a California ) professional corporation; H.I.G. ) 19 CAPITAL, LLC, a Delaware limited ) 20 liability company; COUNTY OF ) VENTURA; a municipal corporation; ) 21 SHERIFF WILLIAM AYUB, in his ) individual and official capacities; ) 22 WILLIAM T. FITHIAN III, M.D.; ) Complaint Filed: 4/13/2021 PAUL ADLER, D.O.; RONALD ) Trial Date: 10/10/2023 23 POLLACK, M.D.; JANICE THOMAS, ) M.D.; GERARD BOYLE; JORGE A. ) 24 DOMINICIS; and DOES 1-10; ) individually, jointly, and severally, ) 25 ) Defendants. ) 26 )

27 28 1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Recent written discovery propounded by Plaintiffs in this action involves 3 production by Defendants of confidential, proprietary, or private information for 4 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose 5 other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted when responding to the 6 following requests for production: 1) Any and all documents which report, 7 memorialize, detail, or in any way mention, any Defendants’ investigation 8 concerning the facts and circumstances pertaining to the May 19, 2020 death of 9 Carlos Lozano; and 2) Any and all documents which report, memorialize, detail, 10 or in any way mention, any and all suicide attempts of Carlos Lozano which 11 occurred at or around the Ventura County Jail occurring prior to May 19, 2020. 12 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter 13 the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 14 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 15 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 16 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 17 under the applicable legal principles. 18 19 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 20 This action involves the exchange of documents that some of the 21 Defendants maintain as confidential for which special protection from public 22 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is 23 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary records contain sensitive and 24 confidential information that derives actual or potential value from not being 25 generally known to the public and are the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain 26 their confidentiality. Investigative reports and reports concerning prior suicidal 27 attempts produced in response to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests contain 28 confidential or proprietary information, or may disclose information concerning 1 highly sensitive and confidential information, including information from third 2 parties. Such records may include, but may not be limited to: 3 1) County of Ventura Defendants: 4 Investigative reports that may concern the overall description, design 5 and/or layout of the interior of the Ventura County Main Jail (“Pre-Trial 6 Detention Facility”) where Decedent was housed and the investigation into 7 Decedent’s in custody death are not accessible to the general public, including the 8 descriptions of the overall design and layout of inmate housing units, safety cells, 9 initial intake and booking areas, special housing units, inmate and security 10 personnel movement corridors, and any monitoring stations housed by jail 11 security and/or medical staff, along with statements from third party witnesses 12 contained with investigative reports. The County of Ventura believes, in good 13 faith, that disclosure of the above materials concerning or reflective of the design 14 and layout of interior areas within the Pre-Trial Detention Facility without a 15 protective order may compromise the safety and privacy of Defendants’ 16 employees and third parties, including jail security, medical staff, and inmates, 17 and effect the overall operation of the jail. The County of Ventura believes, in 18 good faith, that materials that fall within the categories outlined above are the 19 type protected by the Official Information Privilege, the right to privacy 20 guaranteed in the Federal Constitution and contemplated by the federal courts 21 based upon a legitimate need for jail security, safety, privacy, and operational 22 concerns, and thus, are Confidential and protected from public disclosure. 23 Additional County of Ventura documents likely to be produced in response 24 to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests include reports that cover information concerning 25 the initial intake and classification and housing of inmates, portions of County of 26 Ventura policies, procedures, manuals, and/or training materials that are not 27 publicly available and relate specifically to jail security, the classification and 28 housing of inmates, and prevention of cell assignment manipulations by inmates. 1 The County of Ventura believes, in good faith, that reports that fall within the 2 categories outlined are the type protected by the Official Information Privilege, 3 the right to privacy guaranteed in the Federal Constitution, First Amendment, and 4 contemplated by the federal courts based upon the legitimate need for jail 5 security, safety, privacy, and operational concerns, and thus, are Confidential and 6 protected from public disclosure. 7 2) Wellpath Defendants: 8 Records and policies, procedures, manuals and or training materials that are 9 not publicly available and may be proprietary, investigation materials which may 10 be related to the incident at issue, and documents which potentially identify third 11 party private and confidential medical information. Wellpath believe(s), in good 12 faith, that materials that fall within the categories outlined above are the type 13 protected by the Official Information Privilege, State and Federal medical privacy 14 statutes including but not limited to HIPAA and the California Confidential 15 Medical Information Act (CMIA) and thus, are Confidential and protected from 16 public disclosure. 17 In addition, Wellpath defendants believe should individual and/or corporate 18 financial information be compelled for production, such documentation would 19 protected from public disclosure based on privacy considerations of the California 20 and federal Constitutions, and interpreting jurisprudence. 21 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 22 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 23 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 24 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 25 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, 26 and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in 27 this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 28 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 1 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 2 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 3 4 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 5 SEAL 6 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that 7 this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential 8 information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must 9 be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission 10 from the court to file material under seal. 11 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to 12 judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non- 13 dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See 14 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu,

447 F.3d 1172, 1176

(9th Cir. 2006); 15 Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp.,

307 F.3d 1206

, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar- 16 Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc.,

187 F.R.D. 576, 577

(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even 17 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing 18 of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal 19 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to 20 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery 21 Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent 22 evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under 23 seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute 24 good cause. 25 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, 26 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and 27 the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be 28 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n,

605 F.3d 665, 677-79

(9th Cir. 1 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be 2 filed or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the 3 party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 4 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent 5 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be 6 provided by declaration. 7 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable 8 in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be 9 redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public 10 viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable 11 portions of the document shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file 12 documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why 13 redaction is not feasible. 14 15 2. DEFINITIONS 16 2.1 Action: Carlos Lozano, Deceased, et al. v. Wellpath, LLC, et al. 17 Case No. 2:21-cv-03153 FLA-DFM. 18 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 19 designation of information or items under this Order. 20 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless 21 of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 22 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 23 the Good Cause Statement. 24 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 25 their support staff). 26 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information 27 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 28 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 1 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 2 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or 3 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible 4 things) that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in 5 this matter. 6 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 7 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to 8 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 9 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this 10 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 11 outside counsel. 12 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association 13 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 14 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to 15 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 16 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 17 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 18 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 19 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and 20 their support staffs). 21 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 22 Discovery Material in this Action. 23 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 24 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits 25 or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or 26 medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 27 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 28 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 1 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 2 Material from a Producing Party. 3 4 3. SCOPE 5 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 6 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 7 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 8 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 9 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 10 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 11 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 12 13 4. DURATION 14 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 15 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or 16 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively 17 available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling 18 reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to 19 the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana,

447 F.3d at 1180

-81 20 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in 21 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are 22 part of court record). Even after final disposition of this litigation, the 23 confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect as to 24 materials which do not become part of the court record, until a Designating Party 25 agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 26 27 28 1 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material forProtection. 3 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 4 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 5 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate 6 for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 7 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 8 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 9 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 10 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. 11 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for 12 an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development 13 process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 14 expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 15 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that 16 it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party 17 must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable 18 designation. 19 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided 20 in this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 21 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for 22 protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 23 disclosed or produced. 24 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 25 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 26 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 27 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 28 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 1 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies 2 for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 3 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 4 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 5 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party 6 has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 7 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 8 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 9 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 10 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 11 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party 12 must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected 13 Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 14 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by 15 making appropriate markings in the margins). 16 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies 17 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 18 deposition all protected testimony. 19 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 20 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 21 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 22 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information 23 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify 24 the protected portion(s). 25 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 26 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 27 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such 28 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must 1 make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with 2 the provisions of this Order. 3 4 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 5 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 6 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 7 Scheduling Order. 8 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 9 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1, et seq. 10 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be 11 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 12 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 13 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 14 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 15 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 16 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 17 challenge. 18 19 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 20 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that 21 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with 22 this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. 23 Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and 24 under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been 25 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 26 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 27 28 1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 2 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 3 authorized under this Order. 4 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 5 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 6 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 7 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 8 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 9 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 10 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 11 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) 12 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 13 Action; 14 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 15 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 17 (d) the court and its personnel; 18 (e) court reporters and their staff; 19 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 20 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action 21 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 22 (Exhibit A); 23 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information 24 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 25 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, 26 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the 27 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A 28 hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information 1 unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), 2 unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages 3 of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 4 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be 5 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; 6 and 7 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 8 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 9 discussions. 10 11 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 12 IN OTHER LITIGATION 13 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other 14 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this 15 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 16 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 17 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 18 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 19 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 20 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall 21 include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 22 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 23 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 24 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served 25 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in 26 this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which 27 the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating 28 Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of 1 seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these 2 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party 3 in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 4 5 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 6 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 7 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 8 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such 9 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is 10 protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these 11 provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking 12 additional protections. 13 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 14 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 15 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 16 confidential information, then the Party shall: 17 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 18 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 19 agreement with a Non-Party; 20 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 21 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a 22 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and 23 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 24 Non-Party, if requested. 25 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 26 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 27 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 28 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 1 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject 2 to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the 3 court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden 4 and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 5 6 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has 8 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized 9 under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) 10 notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its 11 best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) 12 inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all 13 the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the 14 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as 15 Exhibit A. 16 17 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 18 PROTECTED MATERIAL 19 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 20 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other 21 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal 22 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify 23 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for 24 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 25 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of 26 disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client 27 28 1 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement 2 in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 3 4 12. MISCELLANEOUS 5 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of 6 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 7 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 8 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 9 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in 10 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on 11 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective 12 Order. 13 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 14 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 15 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of 16 the specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected 17 Material under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the 18 information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 19 20 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 21 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 22 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 23 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As 24 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 25 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of 26 the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, 27 the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party 28 (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day 1 deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected 2 Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party 3 has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 4 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding 5 this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, 6 motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 7 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work 8 product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain 9 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected 10 Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 11 (DURATION). 12 13 14. VIOLATION 14 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 15 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 16 17 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 18 19 Attorneys for Plaintiffs CARLOS LOZANO, DECEASED, by and through his 20 Co-Successors in Interest, OSCAR PUENTES, individually, and KARLA 21 GUTIERREZ, individually 22 Dated: May 19, 2023 THE COCHRAN FIRM CALIFORNIA 23

24 /s/ Brian T. Dunn 25 Brian T. Dunn

26

27

28 1 | Attorneys for Defendants County of Ventura and Sheriff William Ayub 2 3 Dated: May 19, 2023 LAWRENCE BEACH ALLEN & CHOI, PC 4 /s/ Rocco Zambito, Jr. James S. Eicher, Jr. 5 Rocco Zambito, Jr. 6 7 || Attorneys for Defendants California Forensic Medical Group, Wellpath, William 8 | T. Fithian III, M.D., Paul Adler, D.O., Ronald Pollack, M.D., Janice Thomas, 9 || M.D., Gerard Boyle, And Jorge A. Dominicis 10 11 || Dated: May 19, 2023 BERTLING LAW GROUP 12 /s/ Jemma Parker Saunders 13 Peter Bertling 14 Jemma Parker Saunders 15 16 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 18 + 19 || DATED: May 22, 2023 HON. DOUGLAS F. MCCORMICK 20 United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 18

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 penalty of perjury 5 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that 6 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of 7 California on _______in the case of Carlos Lozano, Deceased, et al. v. Wellpath, 8 LLC, et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-03153 FLA-DFM. I agree to comply with and to be 9 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and 11 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose 12 in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective 13 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of 14 this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for 16 17 the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 18 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 19 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full 20 name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full 21 address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in 22 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this 23 Stipulated Protective Order. 24 Date: ______________________________________ 25 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 26 Printed name: _______________________________ 27

28 Signature: __________________________________

Reference

Status
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