Torres v. Paredes et al, No. 3:2022cv00448 - Document 35 (S.D. Cal. 2023)
Court Description: ORDER GRANTING Joint Motion for a Protective Order and Entering Stipulated Protective Order (ECF No. 34 ). Signed by Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt on 9/13/2023. (maq)
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Torres v. Paredes et al Doc. 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 EUCEBIO TORRES, Case No.: 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB Plaintiff, 12 13 v. 14 OFFICER G. PAREDES, et al., ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION FOR A PROTECTIVE ORDER AND ENTERING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Defendants. 15 16 [ECF No. 34] 17 18 Before the Court is the parties’ Joint Motion for a Protective Order. (ECF No. 34.) 19 Good cause appearing, the joint motion is GRANTED, and the following Stipulated 20 Protective Order is entered: 21 The Court recognizes that at least some of the documents and information 22 (“materials”) being sought through discovery in the above-captioned action are likely to 23 involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special 24 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this 25 litigation would be warranted. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer 26 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 27 affords extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled under the 28 applicable legal principles to treatment as confidential. The parties further acknowledge 1 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB Dockets.Justia.com 1 that this Stipulated Protective Order creates no entitlement to file confidential information 2 under seal. The purpose of this Order is to protect the confidentiality of such materials as 3 much as practical during the litigation. The parties have agreed to be bound by the terms 4 of this Protective Order (“Order”) in this action. 5 THEREFORE: 6 DEFINITIONS 7 1. The term “confidential information” will mean and include information 8 contained or disclosed in any materials, including documents, portions of documents, 9 answers to interrogatories and requests for admissions, trial testimony, deposition 10 testimony, and transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, including data, summaries, 11 and compilations derived therefrom that is deemed to be confidential information by any 12 party to which it belongs. 13 2. The term “materials” will include, but is not be limited to: documents; 14 correspondence; memoranda; bulletins; blueprints; specifications; minutes; letters; 15 statements; cancelled checks; contracts; invoices; drafts; books of account; worksheets; 16 notes of conversations; desk diaries; appointment books; expense accounts; recordings; 17 photographs; motion pictures; compilations from which information can be obtained and 18 translated into reasonably usable form through detection devices; sketches; drawings; notes 19 (including notebooks and records); reports; instructions; disclosures; other writings; 20 models, prototypes, and other physical objects; and operational procedures. The Parties 21 disagree as to whether policies are “materials” that may potentially be deemed confidential. 22 Should Defendants identify a policy that they deem to be confidential under the terms of 23 this protective order, the Parties will meet and confer about the confidential designation. 24 In the absence of an agreement, either Party or the Parties jointly may move the Court for 25 a determination as to whether such a policy should be designated as confidential under the 26 terms of this protective order or produced without such a designation, as set forth in 27 Paragraph 13. 28 /// 2 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 3. The term “counsel” will mean outside counsel of record, and other attorneys, 2 paralegals, secretaries, and other support staff employed by the counsels of record for 3 Plaintiff and Defendants in this case, and the California Department of Corrections and 4 Rehabilitation. 5 6 GENERAL RULES 4. Each party to this litigation that produces or discloses any materials, answers 7 to interrogatories and requests for admission, trial testimony, deposition testimony, and 8 transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, or information that the producing party 9 believes should be subject to this Order may designate the same as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 10 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY.” 11 a. Designation as “CONFIDENTIAL”: A party or non-party subject to 12 this Order may only designate documents or other information in this action as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL” if the designating party or non-party has an articulable, good 14 faith basis to believe that each document or other information designated as 15 confidential qualifies for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). 16 b. Designation as “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY”: Any 17 party may designate information as “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY” 18 only if, in the good faith belief of such party and its counsel, the information is 19 among that considered to be most sensitive by the party, including but not limited to 20 information that has not been made immediately available to the general public by 21 Plaintiff, Defendants, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 22 (CDCR), the California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS), or Centinela 23 State Prison, and constitutes or discloses information which threatens safety or 24 security of a prison or individual. 25 5. In the event the producing party elects to produce materials for inspection, no 26 marking need be made by the producing party in advance of the initial inspection. For 27 purposes of the initial inspection, all materials produced will be considered as 28 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY,” and must be treated as such pursuant to 3 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 the terms of this Order. Thereafter, upon selection of specified materials for copying by 2 the inspecting party, the producing party must, within a reasonable time prior to producing 3 those materials to the inspecting party, mark the copies of those materials that contain 4 confidential information with the appropriate confidentiality marking. 5 6 6. Whenever a deposition taken on behalf of any party involves a disclosure of confidential information of any party: 7 a. the deposition or portions of the deposition must be designated as 8 containing confidential information subject to the provisions of this Order; such 9 designation must be made on the record whenever possible, but a party may 10 designate portions of depositions as containing confidential information after 11 transcription of the proceedings; a party will have until 14 calendar days after receipt 12 of the deposition transcript to inform the other party or parties to the action of the 13 portions 14 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY.” 15 b. of the transcript to be designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or the disclosing party will have the right to exclude from attendance at 16 the deposition, during such time as the confidential information is to be disclosed, 17 any person other than the deponent, counsel (including their staff and associates), 18 the court reporter, and the person(s) agreed upon pursuant to Paragraph 9 below; and 19 c. the originals of the deposition transcripts and all copies of the 20 deposition must bear the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR 21 COUNSEL ONLY,” as appropriate, and the original or any copy ultimately 22 presented to a court for filing must not be filed unless it can be accomplished under 23 seal, identified as being subject to this Order, and protected from being opened 24 except by order of the Court. 25 7. All confidential information designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 26 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY” must not be disclosed by the receiving 27 party to anyone other than those persons designated within this Order and must be handled 28 in the manner set forth below and, in any event, must not be used for any purpose other 4 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 than in connection with this litigation, unless and until such designation is removed either 2 by agreement of the parties or by order of the Court. 3 8. Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY” must 4 be viewed only by counsel (as defined in Paragraph 3) of the receiving party, and by 5 independent experts under the conditions set forth in this Paragraph. The right of any 6 independent expert to receive any confidential information will be subject to the advance 7 approval of such expert by the producing party or by permission of the Court. The party 8 seeking approval of an independent expert must provide the producing party with the name 9 and curriculum vitae of the proposed independent expert, and an executed copy of the form 10 attached hereto as Exhibit A, in advance of providing any confidential information of the 11 producing party to the expert. Any objection by the producing party to an independent 12 expert receiving confidential information must be made in writing within 14 calendar days 13 following receipt of the identification of the proposed expert. Confidential information 14 may be disclosed to an independent expert if the fourteen-day period has passed and no 15 objection has been made. The approval of independent experts must not be unreasonably 16 withheld. 17 9. Information designated “confidential” must be viewed only by counsel (as 18 defined in Paragraph 3) of the receiving party, by independent experts (pursuant to the 19 terms of Paragraph 8), by court personnel, and by the additional individuals listed below, 20 provided each such individual has read this Order in advance of disclosure and has 21 executed a copy of the form attached hereto as Exhibit A: 22 23 24 a. Executives who are required to participate in policy decisions with reference to this action; b. Technical personnel of the parties with whom counsel for the parties 25 find it necessary to consult, in the discretion of such counsel, in preparation for trial 26 of this action; and 27 28 c. Stenographic and clerical employees associated with the individuals identified above. 5 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 10. With respect to material designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or 2 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY,” any person indicated on the face of the 3 document to be its originator, author, or a recipient of a copy of the document, may be 4 shown the same. 5 11. All information which has been designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 6 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY” by the producing or disclosing party, and 7 any and all reproductions of that information, must be retained in the custody of the counsel 8 for the receiving party identified in Paragraph 3, except that independent experts authorized 9 to view such information under the terms of this Order may retain custody of copies such 10 11 as are necessary for their participation in this litigation. 12. Before any materials produced in discovery, answers to interrogatories or 12 requests for admissions, deposition transcripts, or other documents which are designated 13 as confidential information are filed with the Court for any purpose, the party seeking to 14 file such material must seek permission of the Court to file the material under seal. An 15 application to file a document under seal shall be served on opposing counsel, and on the 16 person or entity that has custody and control of the document, if different from opposing 17 counsel. If the application to file a document designated as confidential under seal is being 18 made by the non-designating party, then, upon request, the designating party must promptly 19 provide the applicant with a legal basis for the confidential designation to include in the 20 application. If opposing counsel, or the person or entity that has custody and control of the 21 document, wishes to oppose the application, he/she must contact the chambers of the judge 22 who will rule on the application, to notify the judge’s staff that an opposition to the 23 application will be filed. 24 13. At any stage of these proceedings, any party may object to a designation of 25 materials as confidential information. The party objecting to confidentiality must notify, 26 in writing, counsel for the designating party of the objected-to materials and the grounds 27 for the objection. If the dispute is not resolved consensually between the parties after 28 meeting and conferring within 14 calendar days of receipt of such a notice of objections, 6 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 the parties may jointly request the Court’s assistance with the dispute, in accordance with 2 Judge Burkhardt’s Civil Chambers Rules. The materials at issue must be treated as 3 confidential information, as designated by the designating party, until the Court has ruled 4 on the objection or the matter has been otherwise resolved. 5 14. All confidential information must be held in confidence by those inspecting 6 or receiving it and must be used only for purposes of this action. Counsel for each party, 7 and each person receiving confidential information, must take reasonable precautions to 8 prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such information. If confidential 9 information is disclosed to any person other than a person authorized by this Order, the 10 party responsible for the unauthorized disclosure must immediately bring all pertinent facts 11 relating to the unauthorized disclosure to the attention of the other parties and, without 12 prejudice to any rights and remedies of the other parties, make every effort to prevent 13 further disclosure by the party and by the person(s) receiving the unauthorized disclosure. 14 15. No party will be responsible to another party for disclosure of confidential 15 information under this Order if the information in question is not labeled or otherwise 16 identified as such in accordance with this Order. 17 16. If a party, through inadvertence, produces any confidential information 18 without labeling or marking or otherwise designating it as such in accordance with this 19 Order, the designating party may give written notice to the receiving party that the 20 document or thing produced is deemed confidential information, and that the document or 21 thing produced should be treated as such in accordance with that designation under this 22 Order. The receiving party must treat the materials as confidential, once the designating 23 party so notifies the receiving party. If the receiving party has disclosed the materials 24 before receiving the designation, the receiving party must notify the designating party in 25 writing of each such disclosure. 26 17. Nothing within this Order will prejudice the right of any party to object to the 27 production of any discovery material on the grounds that the material is protected as 28 privileged or as attorney work product. 7 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 18. Nothing in this Order will bar counsel from rendering advice to their clients 2 with respect to this litigation and, in the course thereof, relying upon any information 3 designated as confidential information, provided that the contents of the information must 4 not be disclosed. 5 19. This Order will be without prejudice to the right of any party to oppose 6 production of any information for lack of relevance or any other ground other than the mere 7 presence of confidential information. The existence of this Order must not be used by 8 either party as a basis for discovery that is otherwise improper under the Federal Rules of 9 Civil Procedure. 10 20. 11 12 Nothing within this Order will be construed to prevent disclosure of confidential information if such disclosure is required by law or by order of the Court. 21. Upon final termination of this action, including any and all appeals, counsel 13 for each party must, upon request of the producing party, return all confidential information 14 to the party that produced the information, including any copies, excerpts, and summaries 15 of that information, or must destroy same at the option of the receiving party, and must 16 purge all such information from all machine-readable media on which it resides. 17 Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for each party may retain all pleadings, briefs, 18 memoranda, motions, and other documents filed with the Court that refer to or incorporate 19 confidential information, and will continue to be bound by this Order with respect to all 20 such retained information. 21 confidential information need not be destroyed, but, if they are not destroyed, the person 22 in possession of the attorney work product will continue to be bound by this Order with 23 respect to all such retained information. 24 22. Further, attorney work product materials that contain Absent an ex parte motion made within 10 calendar days of the termination 25 of the case, the parties understand that the Court will destroy any confidential documents 26 in its possession 27 23. 28 The restrictions and obligations set forth within this Order will not apply to any information that: 8 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 a. the parties agree should not be designated confidential information; 2 b. the parties agree, or the Court rules, is already public knowledge; 3 c. the parties agree, or the Court rules, has become public knowledge other 4 than as a result of disclosure by the receiving party, its employees, or its agents in 5 violation of this Order; or 6 d. has come or will come into the receiving party’s legitimate knowledge 7 independently of the production by the designating party. Prior knowledge must be 8 established by pre-production documentation. 9 24. The restrictions and obligations within this Order will not be deemed to 10 prohibit discussions of any confidential information with anyone if that person already has 11 or obtains legitimate possession of that information. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 25. Transmission by e-mail or some other currently utilized method of transmission is acceptable for all notification purposes within this Order. 26. This Order may be modified by agreement of the parties, subject to approval by the Court. 27. The Court may modify the terms and conditions of this Order for good cause, or in the interest of justice, or on its own order at any time in these proceedings. 28. Without separate court order, this Order and the parties’ stipulation do not change, amend, or circumvent any court rule or local rule. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: September 13, 2023 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 9 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _______________________ (name), of_______________________________ 4 (address), declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand 5 the Protective Order (“Order”) that was issued by the United States District Court for the 6 Southern District of California on September 11, 2023, in the case of Torres, Eucebio v. 7 Officer G. Paredes, et al., 3:22-cv-00448-JES-JLB. I agree to comply with and to be bound 8 by all the terms of the Order, and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply 9 could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly 10 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to the 11 Order to any person or entity, except in strict compliance with the provisions of the Order. 12 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 13 Southern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of the Order, even if 14 such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. 15 16 17 Name: Signature: Date: 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 10 22-cv-00448-JES-JLB
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