1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

11

12 GILBERT JAMES NORIEGA, Case No. 5:24-cv-00170 JAK-(DTBx) Individually, and as Successor in Interest 13 to Jason Noriega, 14 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE Plaintiff, ORDER 15

16 v.

17 COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO, and 18 DOES 1 through 10, Inclusive, 19 Defendants. 20

21 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 22

23 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 24 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 25 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 26 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following 27 1 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection 2 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items 3 that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The 4 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated 5 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil 6 Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that 7 will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 8 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 9 This action is likely to involve law enforcement sensitive information, jail and 10 custody sensitive information, law enforcement personnel information, medical 11 information, third party contact information, and other information for which special 12 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution 13 of this action is warranted. Such confidential materials and information consist of, 14 among other things, law enforcement internal investigation reports, and law 15 enforcement personnel records, as well as confidential medical records, (including 16 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally 17 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from 18 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. 19 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of 20 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information 21 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted 22 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, 23 to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a 24 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the 25 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and 26 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in 27 a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of 1 2. DEFINITIONS 2 2.1 Action: this pending federal law suit. 3 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 4 of information or items under this Order. 5 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 6 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 7 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 8 Statement. 9 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 10 support staff). 11 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 12 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 14 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 15 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among 16 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated 17 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 18 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 19 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an 20 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 21 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 22 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 23 counsel. 24 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 25 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 26 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to 27 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 1 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 2 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 3 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 4 support staffs). 5 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 6 Discovery Material in this Action. 7 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 8 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 9 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 10 their employees and subcontractors. 11 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 12 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 13 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 14 from a Producing Party. 15 3. SCOPE 16 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 17 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 18 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 19 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 20 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 21 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 22 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 23 4. DURATION 24 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 25 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise 26 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the 27 later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; 1 rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing 2 any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 3 Any protected material identified and/or admitted into evidence at the trial of this 4 action shall become public and will be presumptively available to all members of the 5 public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual 6 findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge. See Kamakana v. City and 7 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good 8 cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling 9 reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). 10 Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 11 commencement of the trial to any protected material identified and/or admitted into 12 evidence at the trial of this action. 13 This stipulation is without prejudice for any party to seek a separate order during 14 or after trial that certain evidence identified and/or admitted should be sealed from the 15 public record. 16 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 17 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 18 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 19 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 20 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 21 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 22 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for 23 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this 24 Order. 25 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that 26 are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose 27 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 1 to sanctions. 2 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 3 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 4 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 5 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 6 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated 7 or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this 8 Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 9 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 10 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but 11 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the 12 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter 13 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a 14 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party 15 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 16 in the margins). 17 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 18 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 19 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before 20 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 21 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 22 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions 23 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified 24 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page 25 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 26 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 27 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 1 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all 2 protected testimony. 3 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 4 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior 5 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 6 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 7 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 8 portion(s). 9 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 10 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 11 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon 12 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to 13 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 14 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 15 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 16 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling 17 Order. 18 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 19 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 20 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 21 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., 22 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 23 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn 24 the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in 25 question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s 26 designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 27 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 1 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action 2 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected 3 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 4 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must 5 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 6 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 7 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 8 authorized under this Order. 9 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 10 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party 11 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 12 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as 13 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 14 disclose the information for this Action; 15 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 16 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 17 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure 18 is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 19 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 20 (d) the court and its personnel; 21 (e) court reporters and their staff; 22 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors 23 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 25 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 26 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 27 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action 1 that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will not be 2 permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment 3 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating 4 Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to 5 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter 6 and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective 7 Order; and 8 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually 9 agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 10 (j) the parties to this action. 11 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 12 IN OTHER LITIGATION 13 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 14 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 15 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 16 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 17 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 18 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue 19 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order 20 is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this 21 Stipulated Protective Order; and 22 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by 23 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 24 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the 25 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 26 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 27 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 1 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 2 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive 3 from another court. 4 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 5 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 6 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non- 7 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced 8 by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 9 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting 10 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 11 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce 12 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an 13 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, 14 then the Party shall: 15 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some 16 or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non- 17 Party; 18 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective 19 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific 20 description of the information requested; and 21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party, if 22 requested. 23 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days 24 of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 25 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. 26 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce 27 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality 1 to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection 2 in this court of its Protected Material. 3 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 5 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 6 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing 7 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 8 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 9 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request 10 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 11 that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 12 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 13 PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 15 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 16 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 17 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 18 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 19 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 20 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 21 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 22 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to 23 the court. 24 12. MISCELLANEOUS 25 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 26 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 27 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 1 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 2 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 3 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 4 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected 5 Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed 6 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected 7 Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by 8 the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless 9 otherwise instructed by the court. 10 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 11 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 12 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all 13 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 14 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 15 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 16 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party 17 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person 18 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by 19 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed 20 and (2)affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, 21 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 22 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain a copy 23 of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal 24 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work 25 product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain 26 Protected Material. Any such copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain 27 subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 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. 4 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 5

6 DATED: January 16, 2025_______ LAW OFFICE OF GREGORY

PEACOCK

7

8 By: /s/ Jerry L. Steering 9 JERRY L. STEERING Attorneys for Plaintiff, 10 GILBERT NORIEGA, individually and as successor-in-interest to JASON 11 NORIEGA

12

DATED: January 16, 2025_______ LYNBERG & WATKINS 13 A Professional Corporation

14

15 By: /s/ Amy R. Margolies

SHANNON L. GUSTAFSON

16

AMY R. MARGOLIES

ANITA K. CLARKE

17 Attorneys for Defendant,

COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO

18

19 All signatories listed, and in whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the 20 filing’s content, and have authorized filing. 21

22 DATED: January 16, 2025_________ LYNBERG & WATKINS A Professional Corporation 23

24

By: /s/ Amy R. Margolies 25

SHANNON L. GUSTAFSON

AMY R. MARGOLIES

26

ANITA K. CLARKE

Attorneys for Defendant, 27

COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO

1 |{FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 2 4 DATED: January 17, 2025 2 Wil, Hate 5 Y /. !

6 United States Ma rate Judge 7 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

EXHIBIT A

1

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

2 3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I 4 have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued 5 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of ___________ [insert formal name of the case and the number and initials 6 assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of 7 this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 8 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is 9 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict 10 compliance with the provisions of this Order. 11 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 12 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this 13 action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 14 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this 15 action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 16 Date: ______________________________________ 17 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 18

19 Printed name: _______________________________ 20

21 Signature: __________________________________ 22 23 24 25 26 27