These Ponies Are Miserable v. City of Los Angeles

United States District Court for the Central District of California

These Ponies Are Miserable v. City of Los Angeles

Trial Court Opinion

1 290434) 106866) [email protected] DENISE C. MILLS, Chief Deputy City Atty 2 LAW OFFICE of JEROLD D. (SBN: 191992) FRIEDMAN KATHLEEN KENEALY, Chief Asst. City 3 9620 S. Las Vegas Blvd. E4 Atty (SBN: 212289) 4 #209 GABRIEL S. DERMER, Assistant City Atty Las Vegas, NV 89123 (SBN: 229424) 5 Tel: (213) 536-1244 CARR A. TEKOSKY, Deputy City Atty (SBN: Fax: (281) 667-3506 293767) 6 JOSEPH S. PERSOFF, Deputy City Atty Attorney for Plaintiffs (SBN: 307986) 7 200 North Main Street, Room 675 Los Angeles, CA 90012 8 Tel: (213) 978-7560 Fax: (213) 978-7011 9 E-mail: [email protected]

10 Attorneys for Defendants 11

12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 13 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 14 15 THESE PONIES ARE MISERABLE, Case No. 2:23-cv-8330-HDV-SK 16 et al., Related to Case No.: 2:21-cv-09653

17 Plaintiffs,

18 v.

19 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, et al., ORDER 20 Defendants.

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28 1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 4 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 5 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 6 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 7 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 8 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 9 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 10 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 11 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth 12 in Section 12.3 (Filing Protected Material), below, that this Stipulated Protective 13 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local 14 Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will 15 be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 16 17 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 18 19 The parties acknowledge that this case is likely to involve the exchange of 20 private information, including information concerning plaintiffs and third parties 21 such as identity documents and other personal identifying information for which 22 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 23 prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential materials and information 24 consist of, among other things, Criminal Offender Record Information, information 25 otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or 26 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case 27 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to 28 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery 1 materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 2 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of 3 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling 4 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 5 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information 6 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so 7 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, 8 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public 9 record of this case. 10 11 2. DEFINITIONS 12 2.1 Action: These Ponies are Miserable, an unincorporated association, et 13 al., vs. City of Los Angeles, et al., No. 2:23-cv-8330-HDV-SK; Related 14 to Case No. 2:21-cv-09653 15 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 16 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 19 for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as 20 specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 21 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 22 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 of 27 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained 28 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible 1 things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to 2 discovery in this matter. 3 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 4 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel 5 to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 6 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 7 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 8 outside counsel. 9 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 10 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 11 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 12 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action 13 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated 14 with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, including 15 support staff. 16 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 17 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record 18 (and their support staffs). 19 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 20 Discovery Material in this Action. 21 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 22 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits 23 or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form 24 or medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 25 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 26 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 27 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 28 from a Producing Party. 1 3. SCOPE 2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 3 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 6 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 7 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 8 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 9 10 4. DURATION 11 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as 12 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will 13 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 14 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are 15 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of 16 Honolulu,

447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81

(9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” 17 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 18 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 19 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 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, 28 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 1 unjustifiably 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 or portions of the material on a page 21 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 22 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 23 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 24 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 25 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 26 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 27 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 28 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 1 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 2 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 3 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. 4 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 5 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 6 appropriate markings in the margins). 7 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify 8 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 9 deposition 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 28 resolution process under Civil Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 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 7 is 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 15 the 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 19 a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the 20 persons 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; 28 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 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 a 11 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 A 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 mediator or settlement officer, 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 28 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 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 order 4 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 served with 10 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 11 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 12 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 13 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 14 protection in that court of its confidential material, and nothing in these provisions 15 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 16 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 17 18 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED 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 28 confidential information, then the Party shall: 1 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 2 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 3 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 the Non- 8 Party, if requested. 9 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 10 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 11 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 12 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 13 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 14 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. 15 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 24 or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this 25 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 26 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 27 28 1 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 2 PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 5 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 6 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 7 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 8 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 9 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 10 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 11 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 12 to the Court. 13 14 12. MISCELLANEOUS 15 12.1 Right to Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person 16 to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 17 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 18 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 19 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 20 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 21 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 22 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 23 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 24 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 25 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 26 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 27 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 28 1 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 4 3 (DURATION), within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each 4 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy 5 such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all 6 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or 7 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned 8 or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the 9 Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by 10 the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the 11 Protected Material that was returned or destroyed; and (2) affirms that the Receiving 12 Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, or any other 13 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this 14 provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion 15 papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, 16 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant 17 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any 18 such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to 19 this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 20 21 14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 22 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 23 sanctions. 24 // 25 //

26 27 28 1) ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 2 3 4 Dated: December 9, 2024 LAW OFFICE OF JEROLD D. FRIEDMAN 5 By: /s/ Jerold D. Friedman 6 Attorney for Plaintiffs 7 Dated: December 9, 2024 HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO, City Attorney 8 DENISE C. MILLS, Chief Deputy City Attorney KATHLEEN KENEALY, Chief Asst. City Attorney 9 GABRIEL S. DERMER, Assistant City Attorney JOSEPH S. PERSOFF, Deputy City Attorney 10 CARR A. TEKOSKY, Deputy City Attorney 1] By: /s/ Joseph S. Persoff 12 Joseph S. Persoff B Deputy City Attorney Attorneys for Defendants 14 . . . . Pursuant to L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i) all other Signatories Listed, and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have authorized the filing. 16 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 19 DATED: — 12/9/2024 20

22 | Honorable Steve Kim 33 | United States Magistrate Judge 24 25 26 27 28

1A

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 California 7 on [date] in the case of These Ponies Are Miserable, et al., v. City of Los Angeles, 8 et al., United States District Court for the Central District of California Case No. 9 2:23-cv-8330-HDV-SK. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of 10 this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that failure to 11 so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. 12 I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item 13 that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in 14 strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print 18 or type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or type 19 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in 20 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this 21 Stipulated Protective Order. 22 Date: ______________________________________ 23 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 24

25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26

27 Signature: __________________________________ 28

Reference

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