(PC) Gracia v. County of Kern ( 2024 )

1 MARGO A. RAISON, COUNTY COUNSEL By: Kathleen S. Rivera, Deputy (SBN 211606) 2 Stephanie Virrey Gutcher, Deputy (SBN 277833) Kern County Administrative Center 3 1115 Truxtun Avenue, Fourth Floor Bakersfield, CA 93301 4 Telephone 661-868-3800 Fax 661-868-3805 5 Email: krivera@kerncounty.com sgutcher@kerncounty.com 6 Attorneys for Defendants, 7 County of Kern and David Navarro 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 CAROLINA GRACIA, individually and as Case No.: 1:23-cv-01104-JLT-BAM 11 successor-in-interest to LOUIE GRIJALVA IV, 12 Plaintiffs, STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER 13 vs. 14 COUNTY OF KERN, DAVID NAVARRO Complaint filed: July 24, 2023 and DOES 1 through 6, inclusive, Trial date: April 14, 2026 15 Defendants. 16 17 18 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties through their respective 19 counsel that the following Protective Order be entered: 20 I. Definitions: 21 The following definitions shall govern the construction of this stipulation unless the context 22 otherwise requires. 23 (a) CONFIDENTIAL Information. “CONFIDENTIAL Information” means any and all 24 Information regardless of format or medium, including personal, proprietary, and financial 25 information, state and federal tax records, and other Information which a party has a right to protect 26 from unrestricted disclosure. In the context of the present case, it also includes, but is not limited to: 27 (1) any peace officer information protected by California Penal Code Section 832.7 and California 1 (b) Disclosing Party: “Disclosing Party” means the party who discloses CONFIDENTIAL 2 Information. 3 (c) Information. “Information” means any overdose investigation records, personnel 4 records, audio and video recordings of statements and events and medical / overdose records of third 5 parties, obtained through disclosures, and through discovery obtained through the use of 6 interrogatories, requests for admission, requests for production of documents and things, depositions, 7 subpoenas or other Information obtained during discovery. 8 (d) Notice. “Notice” means reasonable notice under the circumstances. The manner and 9 amount of Notice shall be governed by the particular circumstances. 10 (e) Person. “Person” means person as defined in California Evidence Code § 175. 11 (f) Documents. “Documents” means all written, recorded, graphic, or electronically 12 stored matter whatsoever, including, but not limited to, materials produced pursuant to Rule 34 of the 13 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, by subpoena or by agreement, deposition transcripts and exhibits, 14 interrogatory answers, responses to requests for admissions, and any portion of any Court papers that 15 quote from the foregoing and any other disclosure or discovery material that is designated by the 16 parties as “Confidential”, of or regarding any overdose investigation records, personnel records, audio 17 and video recordings of statements and events and medical / overdose records of third parties. The 18 term “documents” is limited to material or information produced in the above-captioned litigation. 19 II. Scope and Intent. 20 (a) Until further order of the Court or stipulation of the parties, all Information designated 21 as “CONFIDENTIAL” by the Disclosing Party, to the extent such Information discloses 22 CONFIDENTIAL Information, shall be subject to this stipulation. However, nothing in this 23 stipulation shall prevent any party from seeking a modification of this stipulation or objecting to the 24 designation of Information as CONFIDENTIAL Information which the party believes to be otherwise 25 improper. 26 (b) The purpose and intent of this Order is to protect CONFIDENTIAL Information 27 produced by both parties, including but not limited to peace officer personnel records and 1 existing burdens. The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 2 disclosures, or responses to discovery, and that the protection it affords extends only to the limited 3 information, or items, that are entitled under the applicable legal principles to treatment as 4 confidential. 5 (c) The protections conferred by this Stipulated Protective Order cover not only 6 Confidential Information (as defined above), but also any information copied or extracted therefrom, 7 as well as all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations thereof, plus testimony, conversations, or 8 presentations by parties or counsel to or in court or in other settings that might reveal Confidential 9 Information. 10 (d) The parties recognize and acknowledge that some CONFIDENTIAL Information 11 which may be sought is so sensitive that a party may refuse to disclose the Information even under 12 the protection of this stipulation. In such event, this stipulation shall not be deemed consent or an 13 admission that such Information is discoverable and a party may resist disclosure until the matter has 14 been heard by the Court. However, the party refusing to disclose any such information so sensitive 15 shall first seek an in camera review by the District Court before any such refusal to disclose any such 16 information. 17 (e) This stipulation is the product of negotiations and, for purposes of construction and 18 interpretation, shall not be deemed to have been drafted by one party. 19 (f) This stipulation shall be submitted for the signature of the Magistrate Judge assigned 20 to this case in an ex parte manner without need of a formally noticed motion. 21 III. Designation of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. 22 Any Disclosing Party may designate Information, or any portion of such Information, as 23 CONFIDENTIAL Information by placing the word “CONFIDENTIAL” on the Information. By 24 designating Information as CONFIDENTIAL, the Disclosing Party warrants that the designation is 25 made in good faith and on reasonable belief that the Information so designated is CONFIDENTIAL 26 Information as defined above. 27 / / / 1 IV. Oral Deposition Testimony. 2 A party may designate as CONFIDENTIAL Information, Information disclosed during oral 3 deposition by stating so on the record or in writing within 30 days from receipt of the transcript. 4 Where documents that have been designated as CONFIDENTIAL are entered into the record of a 5 deposition or where CONFIDENTIAL Information is disclosed during deposition, such portion of 6 the deposition containing CONFIDENTIAL Information shall be separately bound and marked 7 “CONFIDENTIAL – UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER” in a conspicuous place and shall be subject 8 to the provisions of this stipulation. 9 V. Objection to Designation. 10 A party may at any time object to the designation of Information as CONFIDENTIAL and 11 move the Court for an order declaring that such Information not be designated CONFIDENTIAL. No 12 motion relating to the designation of Information as CONFIDENTIAL shall be filed without first 13 completing the following steps. First, the moving party SHALL confer with the opposing party in a 14 good faith effort to resolve the dispute. Second, if the good faith effort is unsuccessful, the moving 15 party promptly shall seek a telephonic hearing with all involved parties and the Magistrate Judge. It 16 shall be the obligation of the moving party to arrange and originate the conference call to the court. 17 Counsel must comply with Local Rule 251 or the motion will be denied with prejudice and dropped 18 from calendar. 19 VI. Information Which Is Not Confidential. 20 Notwithstanding the designation of Information as CONFIDENTIAL, such Information shall 21 not be CONFIDENTIAL Information, nor shall disclosure be limited in accordance with this 22 stipulation where such Information, is at the time of disclosure, in the public domain by publication 23 otherwise. 24 VII. CONFIDENTIAL Information Obtained from Third Parties. If CONFIDENTIAL Information is obtained from a third party, the third party may adopt the 25 benefits and burdens of this stipulation. Likewise, any party may designate material or Information 26 obtained from a third party as CONFIDENTIAL. 27 / / / 1 VIII. Inadvertent Disclosure. 2 An inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items as Confidential does not, 3 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Stipulated 4 Protective Order for such material. If material is appropriately designated as Confidential after the 5 material was initially produced, the Receiving Party, on notification of the designation, must make 6 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 7 IX. Documents Filed with the Court. 8 If a party wishes to file documents with the Court which contain material designated 9 CONFIDENTIAL, that party SHALL comply with Local Rules 140 and 141. 10 X. Dissemination to Third Parties. 11 (a) CONFIDENTIAL Information shall be disclosed only to the parties to this stipulation, 12 their experts, consultants, investigators and counsel. Before any person receives access to 13 CONFIDENTIAL Information, each shall execute a copy of the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, 14 reciting that he, she or it has read a copy of this stipulation and agrees to be bound by its terms. 15 Nothing in any such protective order issued pursuant to this Stipulation for Protective Order shall 16 prevent any party to this action from providing any such Confidential Information to any law 17 enforcement agency, including the California Department of Justice, the United States Department of 18 Justice, or any other state or federal law enforcement agency. 19 (b) If any person who has obtained CONFIDENTIAL Information under the terms of this 20 stipulation receives a subpoena commanding the production of CONFIDENTIAL Information, such 21 person shall promptly notify the Disclosing Party of the service of the subpoena. The person receiving 22 the subpoena shall not produce any CONFIDENTIAL Information in response to the subpoena 23 without either the prior written consent of the Disclosing Party or order of the Court. 24 XI. Use of CONFIDENTIAL Information During Trial. The Parties will identify in their exchange of Pre-Trial exhibit lists any documents they intend 25 to use which are CONFIDENTIAL. 26 / / / 27 / / / 1 XII. Duty to Use Reasonable Care. 2 All persons bound by this stipulation shall have the duty to use reasonable care and precaution 3 to prevent violations thereof. 4 XIII. Enforcement. 5 (a) Prior to bringing any motion or application before the Court for enforcement of this 6 stipulation, the parties shall comply with the procedures set forth in paragraph 5. 7 (b) In the event anyone shall violate, attempt to violate or threaten to violate any of the 8 terms of this stipulation, after compliance with the procedures in paragraph 5, the aggrieved party 9 may apply to the Court to obtain compliance with this stipulation or to obtain appropriate injunctive 10 relief. Each party agrees that, in response to an application for injunctive relief, it will not assert the 11 defense that the aggrieved party possesses an adequate remedy at law. 12 (c) The Court may make any order against a party to this stipulation it deems appropriate 13 to compel compliance in addition to any injunctive relief available to the parties. 14 (d) If CONFIDENTIAL Information is disclosed to any person other than as allowed by 15 this stipulation, the person responsible for the disclosure must immediately bring all pertinent facts 16 relating to such disclosure to the attention of counsel for the aggrieved party and without prejudice to 17 the other rights and remedies of any party, make every effort to prevent further disclosure. Fines 18 and/or sanctions for inadvertent or intentional disclosure shall be decided by the Court after briefing 19 and argument by all parties concerned. 20 XIV. Modification and Amendments. 21 Except as to those modifications made by the Court, this stipulation may be modified or 22 amended without leave of Court by unanimous written agreement of the parties hereto. 23 XV. Duration of Stipulation. Provided the court makes this stipulation an order of the Court, this stipulation shall survive 24 and remain in full force and effect after the termination of this lawsuit, whether by final judgment 25 after exhaustion of all appeals or by dismissal, and the Court shall retain jurisdiction over the parties 26 and their attorneys for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this stipulation. 27 / / / 1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 2 Respectfully Submitted, 3 DATED: February 22, 2024 MARGO A. RAISON, COUNTY COUNSEL 4 By: /s/ Kathleen Rivera 5 Kathleen Rivera, Deputy Attorneys for County of Kern 6 DATED: February 22, 2024 LAW OFFICE OF JERRY STEERING 7 By: /s/* Jerry L. Steering 8 Jerry L. Steering 9 Brenton Whitney Aitken Hands Attorneys for Plaintiff 10 * E-signed with permission on 2/21/24 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 ORDER 2 Having considered the above stipulation and finding good cause, the Court adopts the signed 3 stipulated protective order. 4 The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States District Court, 5 Eastern District of California, any documents subject to the protective order to be filed under seal 6 must be accompanied by a written request which complies with Local Rule 141 prior to sealing. 7 The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to show good cause for 8 documents attached to a non-dispositive motion or compelling reasons for documents attached to a 9 dispositive motion. Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-78 (9th Cir. 2009). Within 10 five (5) days of any approved document filed under seal, the party shall file a redacted copy of the 11 sealed document. The redactions shall be narrowly tailored to protect only the information that is 12 confidential or was deemed confidential. 13 Additionally, the parties shall consider resolving any dispute arising under the protective 14 order according to the Court’s informal discovery dispute procedure. 15 16 IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 Dated: February 22, 2024 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _ 18 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27