Dahmeer Williams v. City of Los Angeles ( 2021 )

1 NOTE: CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THIS DOCUMENT 2 3 See page 11, line 14. 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 DAHMEER WILLIAMS, an CASE NO. 2:20-cv-06961 FLA (AFMx) individual, 11 Plaintiffs, [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE ORDER 12 RE: DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL vs. INFORMATION 13 CITY OF LOS ANGELES, a Municipal 14 Entity, and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 ORDER ON STIPULATION 19 The Court, finding good cause, Orders as follows: 20 21 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 22 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 23 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 24 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 25 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the 26 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does 27 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that 1 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 2 legal principles. 3 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 4 This action involves the City of Los Angeles and members of the Los Angeles 5 Police Department. Plaintiff is seeking materials and information that Defendants the 6 City of Los Angeles et al. (“City”) maintains as confidential, such as personnel files 7 of the police officers involved in this incident, Internal Affairs materials and 8 information, video recordings (including Body-Worn Video recordings and Digital 9 In-Car Video recordings), audio recordings, and information and other administrative 10 materials and information currently in the possession of the City and which the City 11 believes need special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose 12 other than prosecuting this litigation. Plaintiff is also seeking official information 13 contained in the personnel files of the police officers involved in the subject incident, 14 which the City maintains as strictly confidential and which the City believes need 15 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 16 prosecuting this litigation. 17 The City asserts that the confidentiality of the materials and information sought 18 by Plaintiff is recognized by California and federal law, as evidenced inter alia by 19 California Penal Code section 832.7 and Kerr v. United States Dist. Ct. for N.D. Cal., 20 511 F.2d 192, 198 (9th Cir. 1975), aff'd, 426 U.S. 394 (1976). The City has not 21 publicly released the materials and information referenced above except under 22 protective order or pursuant to a court order, if at all. These materials and 23 information are of the type that has been used to initiate disciplinary action against 24 Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”) officers, and has been used as evidence in 25 disciplinary proceedings, where the officers’ conduct was considered to be contrary 26 to LAPD policy. 27 The City contends that absent a protective order delineating the responsibilities 1 unnecessary and undue disclosure by one or more of the many attorneys, secretaries, 2 law clerks, paralegals and expert witnesses involved in this case, as well as the 3 corollary risk of embarrassment, harassment and professional and legal harm on the 4 part of the LAPD officers referenced in the materials and information. 5 The City also contends that the unfettered disclosure of the materials and 6 information, absent a protective order, would allow the media to share this 7 information with potential jurors in the area, impacting the rights of the City herein to 8 receive a fair trial. 9 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 10 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 11 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 12 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 13 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 14 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 15 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 16 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 17 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there 18 is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 19 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 20 SEAL 21 The parties agree that any pleadings, motions, briefs, declarations, stipulations, 22 exhibits or other written submissions to the Court in this litigation which contain or 23 incorporate Confidential Material shall be lodged with an application and/or joint 24 stipulation to file the papers or the portion thereof containing the Confidential 25 Material, under seal. 26 The parties agree that they will meet and confer regarding the necessity of 27 seeking an order from the Court filing under seal any pleadings, motions, briefs, 1 (5) days prior to filing any application and/or joint stipulation to file under seal. 2 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 3 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 4 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 5 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 6 material under seal. 7 8 2. DEFINITIONS 9 2.1 Action: Dahmeer Williams v. City of Los Angeles, et al. Case No. 2:20- 10 cv-06961 FLA (AFMx). 11 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 12 of information or items under this Order. This also includes (1) any information 13 copied or extracted from the Confidential information; (2) all copies, excerpts, 14 summaries, abstracts or compilations of Confidential information; and (3) any 15 testimony, conversations, or presentations that might reveal Confidential information. 16 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 17 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 18 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the 19 Good Cause Statement. 20 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 21 support staff). 22 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 24 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 25 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 26 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 27 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 1 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 2 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 3 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 4 2.8 Final Disposition: when this Action has been fully and completely 5 terminated by way of settlement, dismissal, trial and/or appeal. 6 2.9 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. 9 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 10 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 11 2.11 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 that 14 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 15 2.12 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). 18 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 19 Discovery Material in this Action. 20 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 21 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 22 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 23 and their employees and subcontractors. 24 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 25 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 26 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 27 from a Producing Party. 1 3. SCOPE 2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 3 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 6 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 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. 9 10 4. DURATION 11 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 12 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 13 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 14 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 15 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 16 of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 17 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “goodcause” showing for sealing documents 18 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related 19 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order 20 do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial as to the CONFIDENTIAL 21 information and materials introduced or admitted as an exhibit at trial. 22 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 23 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 24 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 25 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 26 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 27 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 1 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items 2 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 3 within the ambit of this Order. 4 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 5 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 6 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 7 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 8 Party to sanctions. 9 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 10 designated for protection do not qualify for protection that Designating Party must 11 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 12 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 13 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 14 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 15 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 16 produced. 17 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 18 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 19 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 20 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 21 “CONFIDENTIAL” or words of a similar effect, and that includes the case name and 22 case number (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains 23 protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, 24 the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by 25 making appropriate markings in the margins). 26 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 27 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 1 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 2 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents 3 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, 4 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing 5 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL 6 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the 7 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 8 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 9 margins). 10 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 11 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 12 deposition all protected testimony. 13 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary 14 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place 15 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 16 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 17 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 18 portion(s). 19 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 20 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 21 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 22 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 23 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 24 Order. 25 26 /// 27 /// 1 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 2 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 3 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 4 Scheduling Order. 5 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 6 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 7 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 8 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 9 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 10 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 11 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 12 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 13 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 14 15 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 17 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 18 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 19 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 20 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 21 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 22 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 23 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 24 authorized under this Order. 25 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 26 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 27 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 1 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 2 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 3 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 4 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) 5 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 6 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 7 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 8 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 9 (d) the court and its personnel; 10 (e) court reporters and their staff; 11 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 12 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and 13 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 14 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information 15 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 16 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 17 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 18 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they 19 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 20 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 21 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 22 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 23 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 24 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 25 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 26 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 27 /// 1 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 2 OTHER LITIGATION 3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 4 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 5 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 6 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 7 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 8 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 9 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 10 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a 11 copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 12 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 13 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 14 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 15 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 16 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 17 permission or an order from the court from which the subpoena or order issued. 18 Nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a 19 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 20 21 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 22 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 23 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by 24 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 25 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 26 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 27 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 1 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, 2 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 3 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 4 confidential information, then the Party shall: 5 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the 6 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 7 agreement with a Non-Party; 8 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the 9 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a 10 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and 11 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by 12 the Non-Party, if requested. 13 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court 14 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 15 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 16 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 17 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to 18 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 19 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 20 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 21 22 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 23 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 24 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 25 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 26 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 27 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 1 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 2 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 3 4 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 5 PROTECTED MATERIAL 6 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 7 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 8 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 9 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 10 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 11 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 12 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 13 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 14 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 15 to the court. 16 17 12. MISCELLANEOUS 18 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 19 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 20 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 21 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 22 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 23 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 24 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 25 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 26 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 27 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 1 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in 2 the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 3 4 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 5 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 2.8, within 6 30 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 7 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used 8 in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 9 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 10 Protected Material. The Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the 11 Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by 12 the 30 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the 13 Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving 14 Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 15 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 16 17 14. VIOLATION 18 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 19 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 20 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 21 22 Dated: January 26, 2021 THE OUCHI LAW FIRM, A.P.C. 23 By: / s / Wesley G. Ouchi 24 WESLEY G. OUCHI, ESQ. Attorneys for Plaintiff, DAHMEER WILLIAMS 25 26 /// 27 /// 1 || Dated: January 26, 2021 MICHAEL N. FEUER, City Attorney KATHLEEN A. KENEALY, Chief Deputy City Atty 2 SCOTT MARCUS, Senior Assistant City Attorney 3 CORY M. BRENTE, Senior Assistant City Attorney 4 By:__/&/TyA. Ford 5 TY A. FORD, Deputy City Attorney Attorneys for Defendant, CITY OF LOS ANGELES 6 7 Dated: January 26, 2021 COLLINSON, DAEHNKE, INLOW & GRECO 8 9 By:__ /y/lLaurwt. Inlow LAURA E. INLOW, ESQ. 10 Attorneys for Defendants, JORGE GUTIERREZ And JOSHUA CAMACHO FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 13 14)DATED: 1/26/2021 15 ° ey, 16 17 || HON. ALEXANDER F. MacKINNON 13 United States Magistrate Judge 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _____________________________ to solemnly swear that I am fully 4 familiar with the terms of the Protective Order entered in Dahmeer Williams v. City 5 of Los Angeles, et al., United States District Court for the Central District of 6 California, Central Division, Case No. 2:20-cv-06961 FLA (AFMx), and hereby 7 agree to comply with and tobe bound by all the terms said order. I hereby consent to 8 the jurisdiction of the United States District Court forthe Central District of 9 California for the purpose of enforcing this Order. 10 11 Date: ____________ Signed:________________________________________ 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27