Joseph Evans et al v. County of Los Angeles et al

Filing 62

ORDER RE: STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge John E. McDermott re Stipulation for Protective Order 60 . [See Order for details.] (et)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 12 JOSEPH CHARLES EVANS, Individually; ET AL, (Hon. Michael W. Fitzgerald) 13 14 15 16 17 18 Case No.: 2:19-cv-00793 MWF (JEMx) Plaintiffs, ORDER RE: STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER vs. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, a public entity, ET AL, Defendants. 19 20 Protective Order 21 In the course of discovery in this proceeding, Plaintiff and Defendants, 22 referred to as the “designated parties,” will produce or receive certain valuable 23 confidential and proprietary information for which special protection from public 24 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 25 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court 26 to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order (hereafter “this Order”). 27 The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections 28 on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from -1- 1 public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are 2 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 3 I. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 4 Limiting disclosure of these documents to the context of this litigation as 5 provided herein will, accordingly, further important law enforcement objectives 6 and interests, including the safety of personnel and the public, as well as 7 individual privacy rights of plaintiff, the individual defendants, and third parties. 8 Further, the order will protect the privacy rights and HIPPA rights of parties in 9 this matter. 10 Such confidential materials and information consist of, among other things, 11 materials entitled to privileges and/or protections under the following: the United 12 States Constitution, First Amendment; the California Constitution, Article I, 13 Section 1; California Penal Code §§ 832.5, 832.7, and 832.8; California Evidence 14 Code §§ 1040 and 1043 et seq.; the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a; Health 15 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104- 16 191, decisional law relating to such provisions; and information otherwise 17 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise 18 protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case 19 decisions, or common law. Defendants also contend that such confidential 20 materials and information consist of materials entitled to the Official Information 21 Privilege. 22 Confidential information with respect to the Defendants may include but is 23 not be limited to: personnel files; internal investigative files and documents; email 24 and written correspondence records; and policies and procedures that are kept 25 from the public in the ordinary course of business, as well as other items subject to 26 the Official Information Privilege and other privileges such as privacy pertaining 27 to psychological and medical notes, evaluations, reports, and treatment plans.. 28 Confidential information with respect to the Plaintiff may include but is not be -2- 1 limited to: employment and financial records; email and written correspondence 2 records; video footage and/or photographs of the incident; and psychological and 3 medical notes, evaluations, reports, and treatment plans. 4 5 The designated parties intend that this information be kept confidential and not be used for any purpose other than in this action. 6 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 7 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 8 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 9 parties are permitted to reasonably use such material in preparation for and in 10 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the 11 ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. 12 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential 13 for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief 14 that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good 15 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 16 II. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 17 SEAL 18 The parties further acknowledge that this Order does not entitle them to file 19 confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the 20 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a 21 party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 22 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 23 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive 24 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana 25 v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. 26 Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. 27 Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated 28 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good -3- 1 cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal 2 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to 3 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material 4 as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by 5 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 6 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 7 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, 8 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and 9 the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be 10 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 11 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed 12 or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party 13 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts 14 and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence 15 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 16 declaration. 17 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable 18 in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be 19 redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public 20 viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable 21 portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file 22 documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why 23 redaction is not feasible. 24 III. 25 26 27 28 DEFINITIONS The designated parties therefore agree, through their respective attorneys, as follows: 4.1 Action: Joseph Charles Evans, et a.l, v. County of Los Angeles, et a.l, Case No.: 2:19-cv-00793 MWF (JEMx) -4- 1 2 3 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information or items under this Order. 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of 4 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible 5 things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and 6 as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 7 8 9 4.4 Counsel: General Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff). 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designated information or 10 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 11 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 12 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 13 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained 14 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that 15 are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 16 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 17 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve 18 as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 19 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 20 House Counsel does not include General Counsel of Record or any other outside 21 counsel. 22 23 24 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 4.10 General Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 25 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advice a party to this Action 26 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law 27 firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, as well as their support staff. 28 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, -5- 1 employees, consultants, retained experts, and General Counsel of Record (and 2 their support staffs). 3 4 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that makes a Disclosure or produces Discovery Material in this Action. 5 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 6 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits 7 or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or 8 medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 9 10 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 11 12 4.15 Producing Party: a Party that makes a Disclosure or produces Discovery Material to the Receiving Party. 13 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives a Disclosure or Discovery 14 Material from a Producing Party. 15 IV. SCOPE 16 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 17 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 18 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 19 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 20 presentations by Parties or their Counsel (as defined by Sections 4.8 and 4.10) that 21 might reveal Protected Material. 22 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 23 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 24 V. 25 DURATION The confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect 26 until Final Disposition of this case. “Final Disposition” shall be deemed to be the 27 later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without 28 prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all -6- 1 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time 2 limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 3 applicable law. VI. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 5 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 6 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 7 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 8 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate 9 for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 10 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 11 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 12 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 13 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 14 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 15 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to 16 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 17 Designating Party to sanctions. 18 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that 19 it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party 20 must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable 21 designation. 22 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 23 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 24 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for 25 protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 26 disclosed or produced. 27 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 28 -7- 1 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 2 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 3 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 4 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 5 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies 6 for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 7 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 8 9 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party 10 has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 11 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 12 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 13 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 14 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 15 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 16 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected 17 Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 18 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by 19 making appropriate markings in the margins). 20 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 21 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of 22 the deposition all protected testimony. 23 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 24 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 25 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 26 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information 27 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify 28 the protected portion(s). -8- 1 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 2 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 3 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such 4 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make 5 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the 6 provisions of this Order. 7 CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 8 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation 9 of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 10 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 11 12 13 process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 14 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 15 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 16 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 17 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has 18 waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to 19 afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under 20 the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 21 VII. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 22 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has 23 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized 24 under this Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the 25 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to 26 retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 27 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this 28 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute Exhibit A. -9- 1 2 VIII. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 3 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with 4 this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. 5 Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and 6 under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been 7 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 8 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 9 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party 10 at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the 11 persons authorized under this Order. 12 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 13 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving 14 15 16 Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 17 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 18 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 19 20 21 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 22 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 (d) the court and its personnel; 25 (e) court reporters and their staff; 26 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 27 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 28 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); -10- 1 2 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 3 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 4 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 5 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) 6 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they 7 sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless 8 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of 9 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 10 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed 11 to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 12 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 13 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 14 IX. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 15 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 17 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other 18 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal 19 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify 20 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for 21 production without prior privilege review. 22 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of 23 disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client 24 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement 25 in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 26 X. 27 28 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence MISCELLANEOUS Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. -11- 1 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 2 Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or 3 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Order. 4 5 Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Order. 6 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 7 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. 8 XI. 9 PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 10 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other 11 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this 12 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 13 14 15 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 16 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 17 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall 18 include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 19 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 20 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 21 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 22 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 23 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 24 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 25 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 26 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 27 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this 28 Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. -12- 1 XII. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by 4 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such 5 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected 6 by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions 7 should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional 8 protections. 9 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, 10 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the 11 Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non- 12 Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall: 13 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 14 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 15 agreement with a Non-Party; 16 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 17 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 18 specific description of the information requested; and 19 20 21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party, if requested. (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 22 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 23 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 24 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 25 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject 26 to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the 27 court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden 28 and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. -13- 1 2 XIII. FINAL DISPOSITION After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section VI, supra, 3 within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party 4 must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. 5 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 6 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of 7 the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, 8 the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party 9 (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day 10 deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected 11 Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party 12 has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 13 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding 14 this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, 15 motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 16 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work 17 product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain 18 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected 19 Material remain subject to this Order as set forth in Section VI, supra. 20 XIV. AGREEMENT 21 1. This Stipulated Protective Order will apply to all Confidential 22 Information. Confidential information is information (regardless of how it is 23 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 24 under California Code of Civil Procedure. The protections conferred by this 25 Stipulation and Order cover not only Confidential Information (as defined above), 26 but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Confidential Information; 27 (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Confidential Information; 28 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel -14- 1 (as defined by Sections 4.8 and 4.10) that might reveal Confidential Information. 2 Any use of Confidential Information at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 3 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Confidential Information at trial. 4 2. Confidential Information will be used by the party to whom it is 5 disclosed only in this action. A designated party will not use any Confidential 6 Information for any business or competitive purposes. 7 3. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the 8 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may only disclose Confidential Information 9 to the following: 10 (a) the Receiving Party’s General Counsel of Record in this 11 Action, as well as employees of said General Counsel of Record to whom it is 12 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 13 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House 14 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for 15 this Action; 16 (c) experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 17 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 18 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound,” attached and hereafter referred 19 to as “Exhibit A.” 20 (d) the court and its personnel; 21 (e) court reporters and their staff; 22 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 23 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action 24 and who have signed Exhibit A. 25 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the 26 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the 27 information; 28 -15- 1 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for 2 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) 3 the deposing party requests that the witness sign Exhibit A; and (2) they will not 4 be permitted to keep any Confidential Information unless they sign Exhibit A, 5 unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of 6 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Confidential 7 Information may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be 8 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Order; and 9 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 10 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 11 discussions. 12 4. Counsel to whom Confidential Information is disclosed or produced 13 will be responsible for ensuring that parties and other persons to whom 14 Confidential Information may be disclosed are informed of the terms of this 15 Stipulated Protective Order, but that no one, other than the persons specified in 16 paragraph 3, is informed of the substance of any Confidential Information 17 disclosed or produced. Before disclosing Confidential Information to any other 18 person, counsel will obtain from that person a written agreement to be bound by 19 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order by securing an executed agreement in 20 the form of Exhibit A. 21 5. Any document or tangible thing designated as Confidential 22 Information that is identified as an exhibit in connection with testimony given in 23 these proceedings will be marked with the label “Confidential Information,” and 24 any testimony concerning the document or thing will also be considered 25 Confidential Information and will be subject to the terms of this Stipulated 26 Protective Order. 27 28 6. Counsel who seeks to file with the court clerk Confidential Information in the form of a document, interrogatory answer, deposition -16- 1 transcript, pleading, or other record or tangible item will ask the Court to direct 2 that this Confidential Information be filed under seal, specifically marked as 3 Confidential Information subject to this Stipulated Protective Order, and kept in a 4 safe and secure place and not in files open to public inspection. 5 7. On final disposition of this action, counsel for any party having 6 possession, custody, or control of Confidential Information produced in the course 7 of discovery in this action will promptly return all original documents and tangible 8 items covered by this Order to counsel for the designated party who produced 9 them and will destroy all copies, transcripts, notes, summaries, compilations and 10 extracts which reproduce, capture or contain containing Confidential Information 11 except those marked as exhibits during trial. 12 8. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order (a) affects, in any way, 13 the admissibility of any documents, testimony, or other evidence at trial or (b) 14 restricts the use of information obtained from sources other than discovery 15 conducted under the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order. 16 17 9. This Stipulated Protective Order may be modified by agreement of the parties, subject to approval of the Court. 18 19 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 21 22 23 DATED: 10/10/2019 By:____________________________________ HON. JOHN E. MCDERMOTT United States Magistrate Judge 24 25 26 27 28 -17- 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, , [print or type full name], 4 of 5 under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court or 7 the Central District of California on [date] in the case of Joseph Charles Evans v. 8 County of Los Angeles et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-00793 MWF (JEMx). I agree to 9 comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 10 and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to 11 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I 12 will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this 13 Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance 14 with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of 15 the United States District Court for the Central District of California for 16 enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement 17 proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby 18 appoint 19 of 20 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this 21 action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 22 Order. 23 Date: 24 City and State where sworn and signed: [print or type full address], declare [print or type full name] [print or type full address and telephone 25 26 Printed name: 27 Signature: 28 -18-

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