Luis Ranero et al v. County of San Bernardino et al

Filing 24

ORDER APPROVING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Kenly Kiya Kato re REQUEST for Protective Order 22 (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS) (dts)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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12 LUIS RANERO; and JASMIN
RANERO, in each case individually,
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Judge Consuelo B. Marshall

Plaintiffs,

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Case No. 5:16-cv-02655-CBM-KKx

vs.

[PROPOSED] STIPULATED
PROTECTIVE ORDER

16 COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO and
DOES 1-10, inclusive,
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Defendant

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CASE NO: 5:16-cv-02655-CBM-DTB
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1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
5 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
6 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
7 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
8 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
9 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
10 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in
11 Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to
12 file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
13 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
14 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
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B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

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This action will involve law enforcement tactics, procedures, training,

17 regulations, personnel, investigations and rules for which special protection from
18 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action
19 is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,
20 among other things, certain documents maintained by the San Bernardino County
21 Sheriff’s Department (“SBCSD”) and/or the San Bernardino County District
22 Attorney (“SBCDA”), which include internal policies and procedures, internal
23 training materials, internal affairs investigation files, criminal investigation files,
24 personnel files of current and/or former SBCSD officers, and other documents and
25 information which implicate the privacy rights of parties and non-parties, which
26 information is generally unavailable to the public and which is privileged or
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1 otherwise protected from disclosure under state and federal statutes, court rules, case
2 decisions, or common law.
Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt

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4 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
5 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
6 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for
7 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and
8 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
9 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
10 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good
11 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and
12 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
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DEFINITIONS
2.1

Action: this pending federal law suit, Luis Ranero and Jasmine Ranero

v. County of San Bernardino, et al., case number 5:16-cv-02655-CBM-DTB.
2.2

Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the

designation of information or items under this Order.
2.3

“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
the Good Cause Statement.
2.4

Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as

their support staff).
2.5

Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

items that it produces in disclosures or responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
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1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
2 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
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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 to serve as
5 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
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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 outside
8 counsel.
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2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or

10 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
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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 and have
13 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
14 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
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2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

16 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
17 support staffs).
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2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

19 Discovery Material in this Action.
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2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation

21 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
22 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or
23 medium)and their employees and subcontractors.
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2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

25 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
27 Material from a Producing Party.
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3.

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SCOPE
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. Any
7 use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge.
8 This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
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4. DURATION

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Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information that is to be

11 introduced that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to
12 this protective Order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
13 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
14 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
15 of the trial. Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th
16 Cir. 2006) [distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
17 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are
18 part of court record]. Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend
19 beyond the commencement of the trial.
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5.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
5.1

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

22 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
23 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
24 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
25 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
26 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
27 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
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1 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized
2 designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified
3 or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber
4 the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
5 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. If it comes to a
6 Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for
7 protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly
8 notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
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5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

10 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
11 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
12 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
13 produced.
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Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic

16 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
17 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
18 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
19 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
20 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
21 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
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A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for

23 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party
24 has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the
25 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
26 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
27 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
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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).
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(b) for testimony given in depositions or in other pretrial proceedings, that

8 the Designating Party identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record,
9 before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding.
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(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for

11 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
12 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).
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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.
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6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6.1 Timing of Challenges. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party

24 may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the
25 Court’s Scheduling Order and any amendments thereto.
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6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

27 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1, et seq. Any discovery motion must
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1 strictly comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.
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6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the

3 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
4 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
5 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
6 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
7 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
8 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
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7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

11 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
12 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
13 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
14 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
15 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
16 DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
17 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the
18 persons authorized under this Order.
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7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise

20 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving
21 Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
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(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as

23 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
24 disclose the information for this Action;
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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the

26 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
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(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
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1 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(d) the court and its personnel;

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(e) court reporters and their staff;

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(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

6 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
7 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

9 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
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(h) during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses, in the

11 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
12 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will
13 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
14 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
15 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
16 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
17 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
18 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

20 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
22 IN OTHER LITIGATION
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If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
24 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
25 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

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(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to

2 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
3 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
4 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued

6 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
7 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
8 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
9 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
10 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
11 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
12 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
13 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
14 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED

16 IN THIS LITIGATION
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(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

18 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
19 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
20 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
21 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
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(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to

23 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
24 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
25 confidential information, then the Party shall:
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(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party

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2 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
3 agreement with a Non-Party;
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(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
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(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

8 Party, if requested.
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(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14

10 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.
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10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

19 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
20 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
21 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
22 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
23 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
24 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
25 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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//

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11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

2 PROTECTED MATERIAL
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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
8 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar
9 as the 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.
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12. MISCELLANEOUS
12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

15 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
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12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

17 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
18 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
19 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
20 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
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12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

22 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
23 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
24 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
25 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
26 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
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13. FINAL DISPOSITION

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After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

3 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
4 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
5 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
6 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
7 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
8 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
9 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
10 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
11 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
12 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
13 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
14 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
15 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
16 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
17 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
18 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
19 Section 4 (DURATION).
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1 14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
2 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
3 sanctions.
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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

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6 DATED: July 6, 2017

LAW OFFICES OF DALE K. GALIPO
AARON MEYER LAW

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By

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DATED: July 6, 2017

Dale K. Galipo, Esq.
Renee V. Masongsong, Esq.
Aaron Meyer, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP

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By

Dana A. Fox, Esq.
Barry Hassenburg, Esq.
Wiener Cadet, Esq.
Attorneys for Defendant, County
of San Bernardino

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18 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
19 DATED: July 7, 2017
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Hon. Kenly Kiya Kato
United States Magistrate Judge

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