Vicki Allen v. City of Pasadena Police Department
Vicki Allen v. City of Pasadena Police Department
Trial Court Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 1] Lye Case No. 12 VICKI ALLEN, an individual, 2:23-cv—08816-MWF-PVCx B Plaintiff, y STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 14 ORDER 15 CITY OF PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT, a government 16 antity: and COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES WOMEN’S JAIL. 17 FACILITY, a government entity; Diego Duran Jara, individually 18 jointly, severally, and in his o ficial capacity as a City of Pasadena Police 19 Officer; Matthew Morgan, individually, jointly, severally, and in 20 his official capacity as a City of Pasadena Police Officer; and DOES 1 1 through 100, inclusive, Defendants. 23 i) 25 || // aT 28
1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 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, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to 13 file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the 14 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 15 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 16 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 17 WHEREAS Plaintiff (“Vicki Allen”) is seeking materials and information 18 that Defendants the City of Pasadena (“City”) and the County of Los Angeles 19 (“County”) et al. maintain as confidential, such as personnel files of the police 20 officers involved in this incident, video recordings, audio recordings, other 21 confidential information and documents regarding this incident, and other 22 administrative materials and information currently in the possession of the City and 23 County and which the City and County each believe need special protection from 24 public disclosure and from use of any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation. 25 Plaintiff also seeks official information contained in the personnel files of the police 26 officers involved in the subject incident, the personnel files of the jail facility staff 27 involved in the subject incident, which the City and/or County maintain as strictly 1 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this 2 litigation. 3 Defendants assert that the confidentiality of such documents and information 4 sought by Plaintiff are recognized by California law, as evidenced inter alia by 5 California Penal Code section 832.7 et seq., California Evidence Code section 1040, 6 et seq. and rights to privacy; 7 The City has not publicly released the documents and information referenced 8 above except under protective order or pursuant to court order, if at all. These 9 materials and information are of the type that has been used to initiate disciplinary 10 action against the City of Pasadena Police Department (“CPPD”) officers, and has 11 been used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings, where the officers’ conduct was 12 considered to be contrary to CPPD policy. 13 The County has not publicly released the documents and information 14 referenced above except under protective order or pursuant to court order, if at all. 15 These materials and information are of the type that has been used to initiate 16 disciplinary action against the County of Los Angeles Jail Facility (“County Jail”) 17 staff, and has been used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings, where the staffs’ 18 conduct was considered to be contrary to County Jail policy. 19 Absent a protective order delineating the responsibilities of nondisclosure on 20 the part of the parties hereto, there is a specific risk of unnecessary and undue 21 disclosure by one or many of the many attorneys, secretaries, law clerks, paralegals 22 and expert witnesses involved in this case, as well as the corollary risk of 23 embarrassment, harassment and professional and legal harm on the part of the City 24 of Pasadena Police Department officers and/or the County of Los Angeles Jail 25 Facility staff referenced in the documents and information; 26 The unfettered disclosure of the materials and information, absent a protective 27 order, would allow the media to share this information with potential jurors in the 1 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 2 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 3 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 4 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 5 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 6 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 7 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 8 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 9 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 10 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 11 This case involves police use of excessive force. Discovery in this action is 12 likely to involve the production of sensitive, confidential documents pertaining to 13 and contained in the private employment personnel file of the Defendant CCPD 14 officers, which include Officer Diego Duran Jara and Officer Matthew Morgan 15 (collectively herein “Defendant Officers”). Production and disclosure of these 16 confidential personnel file documents without this protective order will subject 17 Defendant Officers to unwarranted and unnecessary embarrassment, harassment, 18 and/or violation of Defendant Officers’ right of privacy. 19 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 20 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 21 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 22 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 23 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 24 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 25 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 26 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 27 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 1 2. DEFINITIONS 2 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit. 3 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 4 designation of information or items under this Order. 5 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 6 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 7 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 8 the Good Cause Statement. 9 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 10 their support staff). 11 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 12 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 14 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 15 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 16 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 17 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 18 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 19 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 20 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 21 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 22 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 23 counsel. 24 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 25 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 26 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 27 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 1 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 2 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 3 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 4 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 5 support staffs). 6 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 7 Discovery Material in this Action. 8 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 9 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 10 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 11 and their employees and subcontractors. 12 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 14 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 15 Material from a Producing Party. 16 3. SCOPE 17 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 18 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 19 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 20 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 21 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 22 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the 23 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 24 4. DURATION 25 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any 26 appellate proceedings, of if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal 27 has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through 1 contractually bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION 2 but will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all 3 proceedings in this case are complete. 4 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as 5 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will 6 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 7 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are 8 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of 9 Honolulu,
447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81(9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” 10 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 11 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 12 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 13 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 15 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 16 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 17 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 18 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 19 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 20 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 21 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 22 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 23 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 24 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 25 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 26 Party to sanctions. 27 1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 2 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 3 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 4 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 5 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 6 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 7 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 8 produced. 9 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 10 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 11 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that 12 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter 13 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a 14 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 15 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 16 markings in the margins). 17 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 18 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 19 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 20 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 21 inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 22 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 23 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 24 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 25 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. 26 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 27 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the 2 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all 3 protected testimony. 4 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 5 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 6 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 7 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 8 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected 9 portion(s). 10 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 11 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 12 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 13 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 14 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 15 Order. 16 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 17 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 18 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 19 Scheduling Order. 20 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute 21 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 22 et seq. 23 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on 24 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 25 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 26 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 27 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will 1 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 2 challenge. 3 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 5 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 6 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 7 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 8 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 9 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 10 DISPOSITION). 11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 12 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 13 authorized under this Order. 14 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 15 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 16 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 17 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 18 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 19 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 20 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 21 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 22 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 23 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 26 (d) the Court and its personnel; 27 (e) court reporters and their staff; 1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 3 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 4 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 5 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 8 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they 9 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 10 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 11 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 12 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 13 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 14 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 15 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 17 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 18 IN OTHER LITIGATION 19 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 20 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 21 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 22 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 23 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 24 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 25 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 26 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include 27 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 2 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 3 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 4 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this 5 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 6 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 7 permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking 8 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 9 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 10 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 11 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 12 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 13 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 14 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 15 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 16 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 17 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 18 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 19 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 20 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 21 confidential information, then the Party will: 22 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 23 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 24 agreement with a Non-Party; 25 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 26 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 27 specific description of the information requested; and 1 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 2 Non-Party, if requested. 3 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 4 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 5 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 6 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will 7 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 8 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 9 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense 10 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 11 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 13 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 14 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 15 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 16 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 17 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 18 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 19 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 20 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 21 PROTECTED MATERIAL 22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 23 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 24 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 25 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 26 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 27 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 1 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 2 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 3 protective order submitted to the court. 4 12. MISCELLANEOUS 5 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 6 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 this 10 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 11 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 12 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 13 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 14 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 15 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 16 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 17 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 18 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 19 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 20 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 21 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 22 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 23 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 24 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 25 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 26 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 27 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 1 || abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 2 || of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 3 || retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 4 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 5 || reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 6 || materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 7 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 8 || Section 4 (DURATION). 9 || 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal 10 || contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary 11 || authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 12 13 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN BY THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION, IT IS SO " ORDERED. 15 16 full DATED: January 29, 2024 18 HON. PEDRO V. CASTILLO 19 United States Magistrate Judge 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3
4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ 5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and 6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of 8 ___________ [insert case name and number]. 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 punishment 11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 12 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 13 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full 18 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and 19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 21 Order. 22 Date: ______________________________________ 23 City and State where signed: _________________________________ 24
25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26
27 Signature: __________________________________
Reference
- Status
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