Ramon Mosqueda v. City of Los Angeles ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RAMON MOSQUEDA, CASE NO. CV23-05433-ODW (ASx) Action Filed: May 17, 2023 12 Plaintiff, Hon. Otis D. Wright, II, Ctrm. 5D, 5th Floor Mag. Judge Alka Sagar, Ctrm 540-Roybal 13 v. 14 PROTECTIVE ORDER 15 CITY OF LOS ANGELES; LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT; 16 and DOE DEFENDANTS 1 through 10, inclusive, 17 18 Defendants. 19 20 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 21 22 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, 23 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 24 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the 25 parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 26 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 27 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 1 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further 2 acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order 3 does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 4 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied 5 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 6 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 7 This action involves the City of Los Angeles (the “City”) and members of the 8 City’s Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”). The nature of the incident that gives 9 rise to Plaintiff’s suit and Plaintiff’s claims and allegations, will result in discovery 10 production that includes: police reports and evidence; investigation reports and evidence; 11 peace officer personnel materials; information implicating the privacy rights of third 12 parties (i.e., bystander witnesses, emergency personnel information); and other private 13 and confidential materials for which require special protection from public disclosure. 14 Specifically, Plaintiff is seeking materials and information that Defendants City 15 (collectively, “Defendants”) maintain as confidential such as personnel files of the police 16 and/or sworn officers involved in this incident, Internal Affairs materials and information, 17 video recordings, audio recordings, photographs, Force Investigation Division materials 18 and information and other administrative materials and information currently in the 19 possession of Defendants and which Defendants believe need special protection from 20 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation. 21 Plaintiff may also seek official information contained in the personnel files of the police 22 and/or sworn officers involved in the subject incident, which Defendants maintain as 23 strictly confidential and which Defendants believe need special protection from public 24 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation. 25 Defendants assert that the confidentiality of the materials and information sought 26 by Plaintiff is recognized by California and federal law, as evidenced inter alia by 27 California Penal Code section 832.7 and Kerr v. United States Dist. Ct. for N.D. Cal., 1 publicly released the materials and information referenced above except under protective 2 order or pursuant to a court order, if at all. The personnel materials and information are 3 of the type that has been used to initiate disciplinary action against the City’s respective 4 employees, and has been used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings, where the 5 employee conduct was considered to be contrary to policy. 6 Defendants contend that absent a protective order delineating the responsibilities 7 of nondisclosure on the part of the parties hereto, there is a specific risk of unnecessary 8 and undue disclosure by one or more of the many attorneys, secretaries, law clerks, 9 paralegals and expert witnesses involved in this case, as well as the corollary risk of 10 embarrassment, harassment and professional and legal harm on the part of the City’s 11 employees referenced in the materials and information. 12 Defendants also contend that the unfettered disclosure of the materials and 13 information, absent a protective order, would allow the media to share this information 14 with potential jurors in the area, impacting the rights of Defendants herein to receive a 15 fair trial. 16 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution 17 of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information 18 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted 19 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, 20 to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a 21 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the 22 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that 23 nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a 24 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the 25 public record of this case. 26 Plaintiff agrees that there is Good Cause for a Protective Order so as to preserve 27 the respective interests of the parties while streamlining the process of resolving any 1 The parties therefore stipulate that there is Good Cause for, and hereby jointly 2 request that the honorable Court issue a Protective Order regarding confidential 3 documents consistent with the terms and provisions of this Stipulation. However, the 4 entry of a Protective Order by the Court pursuant to this Stipulation shall not be construed 5 as any ruling by the Court on the aforementioned legal statements or privilege claims in 6 this section, no shall this section be construed as part of any such Court Order. 7 2. DEFINITIONS 8 2.1 Action: [this pending federal law suit]. [*Option: consolidated or related 9 actions.] 10 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 11 information or items under this Order. 12 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is 13 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 14 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 15 Statement. 16 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 17 support staff). 18 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items 19 that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 20 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the 21 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other 22 things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in 23 disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 24 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent 25 to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert 26 witness or as a consultant in this Action. 27 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House 1 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other 2 legal entity not named as a Party to this action 3 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this 4 Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in 5 this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on 6 behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 7 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 8 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 9 support staffs). 10 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery 11 Material in this Action. 12 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 13 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 14 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 15 their employees and subcontractors. 16 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 17 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 18 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from 19 a Producing Party. 20 3. SCOPE 21 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 22 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 23 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 24 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 25 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 26 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 27 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 1 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as 2 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will be 3 presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 4 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made 5 to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 6 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing 7 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits- 8 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective 9 order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 10 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 11 imposed by this Order will remain in effect as to all Protected Material that was not 12 introduced or not admitted into evidence at trial until a Designating Party agrees 13 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition will be deemed 14 to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without 15 prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all 16 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits 17 for filing any motions or applications for extensions of time pursuant to applicable law. 18 19 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 20 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 21 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order 22 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the 23 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those 24 parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so that 25 other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection 26 is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 27 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that 1 to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary 2 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. If 3 it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for 4 protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all 5 other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 6 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 7 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 8 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under 9 this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 10 11 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 12 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 13 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 14 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 15 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each 16 page that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the 17 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must 18 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 19 markings in the margins). 20 21 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need 22 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which 23 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the 24 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 25 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 26 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions 27 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified 1 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 2 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 3 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 4 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the 5 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all 6 protected testimony. 7 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 8 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior 9 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 10 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, 11 the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 12 13 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to 14 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating 15 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely 16 correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure 17 that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 18 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 19 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of 20 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 21 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the informal dispute 22 resolution process set forth in the Court's Procedures and Schedules. see 23 http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/honorable-alka-sagar 24 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 25 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., 26 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 27 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn 1 the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until 2 the Court rules on the challenge. 3 4 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 6 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action 7 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected 8 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 9 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must 10 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 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 otherwise 15 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party 16 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 17 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as 18 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 19 disclose the information for this Action; 20 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 21 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 22 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is 23 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 24 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 25 (d) the court and its personnel; 26 (e) court reporters and their staff; 27 1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors to 2 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 3 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 4 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian 5 or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action 7 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests that 8 the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted 9 to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and 10 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party 11 or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to 12 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter 13 and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective 14 Order; and 15 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually 16 agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 17 18 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 19 OTHER LITIGATION 20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 21 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 22 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 23 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 24 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 25 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue 26 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is 27 subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated 1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the 2 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 3 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the 4 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 6 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 7 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court 8 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 9 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive 10 from another court. 11 12 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED 13 IN THIS LITIGATION 14 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a NonParty 15 in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by 16 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 17 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a 18 Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 19 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a 20 Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an 21 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, 22 then the Party shall: 23 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some 24 or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non- 25 Party; 26 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order 27 in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of 1 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party, if 2 requested. (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 3 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 4 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If 5 the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any 6 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement 7 with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the 8 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this 9 court of its Protected Material. 10 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 writing 15 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 16 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 17 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request 18 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 19 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 inadvertently 23 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of 24 the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 25 This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e- 26 discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to 27 Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the 1 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the 2 stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 3 4 12. MISCELLANEOUS 5 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person 6 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 Protective 8 Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or 9 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated 10 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in 11 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 Protected 13 Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed 14 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected 15 Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the 16 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless 17 otherwise instructed by the court. 18 19 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 20 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days 21 of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all 22 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 23 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 24 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 25 Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit 26 a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 27 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where 1 the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or 2 any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding 3 this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion 4 papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, 5 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and 6 expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 7 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order 8 as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 9 14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 10 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 11 12 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 13 DATED: December 1, 2023 LAW OFFICES OF TODD FRIEDMAN 14 __/s/ Adrian Bacon______________________ 15 ADRIAN BACON, ESQ Attorneys for Plaintiff RAMON MOSQUEDA 16 17 DATED: December 1, 2023 HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO, City Attorney DENISE C. MILLS, Chief Deputy City Attorney 18 SCOTT MARCUS, Chief Asst. City Attorney CORY M. BRENTE, Senior Assistant City Attorney 19 Rebecca E. Hunter By: /s/ 20 REBECCA E. HUNTER1, Deputy City Attorney 21 Attorneys for Defendants, CITY OF LOS ANGELES and LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT 22 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 23 DATED: _D_e_c_e_m_b_e_r _1_, _2_0_23_ __________/ _s_ /_ S_a_g_a_r____________________ 24 Honorable Alka Sagar 25 United States Magistrate Judge 26 1 Pursuant to Local Rule 5 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I attest that the other signatories listed, 27 and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have 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 that I 5 have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued 6 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in 7 the case of Ramon Mosqueda v. City of Los Angeles et al; Case No. 2:23-cv-05433- 8 ODW (ASx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 9 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could 10 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly 11 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to 12 this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with 13 the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United 14 States District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of 15 enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement 16 proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint 17 __________________________ [print or type full name] of 18 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone 19 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action 20 or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 21 Date: ______________________________________ 22 City and State where sworn and signed: ________________________________ 23 Printed name: _______________________________ 24 Signature: __________________________________ 25 26 27