Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_19-cv-01199/USCOURTS-caed-1_19-cv-01199-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Civil Rights Act

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

LONDON WALLACE,

Plaintiff,

v.

CITY OF FRESNO, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 1:19-cv-01199-AWI-SAB

ORDER RE STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 

ORDER

(ECF No. 34)

STIPULATION FOR ENTRY OF PROTECTIVE ORDER

1. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT.

1.1. Defendants’ Contentions. 

Defendants contend that there is good cause and a particularized need for a 

protective order to preserve the interests of confidentiality and privacy in peace 

officer personnel file records and associated investigative or confidential records 

for the following reasons.

First, Defendants contend that peace officers have a federal privilege of 

privacy in their personnel file records: a reasonable expectation of privacy therein 

that is underscored, specified, and arguably heightened by the Pitchess protective 

procedure of California law. See Sanchez v. Santa Ana Police Dept., 936 F.2d 

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1027, 1033-1034 (9th Cir. 1990); Hallon v. City of Stockton, 2012 U.S. Dist. 

LEXIS 14665, *2-3, 12-13 (E.D. Cal. 2012) (concluding that “while “[f]ederal law 

applies to privilege based discovery disputes involving federal claims,” the “state 

privilege law which is consistent with its federal equivalent significantly assists in 

applying [federal] privilege law to discovery disputes”); Soto v. City of Concord, 

162 F.R.D. 603, 613 n. 4, 616 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (peace officers have 

constitutionally-based “privacy rights [that] are not inconsequential” in their police 

personnel records); cf. Cal. Penal Code §§ 832.7, 832.8; Cal. Evid. Code §§ 1040-

1047. Defendants further contend that uncontrolled disclosure of such personnel 

file information can threaten the safety of non-party witnesses, officers, and their 

families/associates. 

Second, Defendants contend that municipalities and law enforcement 

agencies have federal deliberative-executive process privilege, federal official 

information privilege, federal law enforcement privilege, and federal attorneyclient privilege (and/or attorney work product protection) interests in the personnel 

files of their peace officers – particularly as to those portions of peace officer 

personnel files that contain critical self-analysis, internal deliberation/decisionmaking or evaluation/analysis, or communications for the purposes of obtaining or 

rendering legal advice or analysis – potentially including but not limited to 

evaluative/ analytical portions of Internal Affairs type records or reports, 

evaluative/analytical portions of supervisory records or reports, and/or reports 

prepared at the direction of counsel, or for the purpose of obtaining or rendering 

legal advice. See Sanchez, 936 F.2d at 1033-1034; Maricopa Audubon Soc’y v. 

United States Forest Serv., 108 F.3d 1089, 1092-1095 (9th Cir. 1997); Soto, 162 

F.R.D. at 613, 613 n. 4; Kelly v. City of San Jose, 114 F.R.D. 654, 668-671 (N.D. 

Cal. 1987); Tuite v. Henry, 181 F.R.D. 175, 176-177 (D. D.C. 1998); Hamstreet v. 

Duncan, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89702 (D. Or. 2007); Admiral Ins. Co. v. United 

States Dist. Ct., 881 F.2d 1486, 1492, 1495 (9th Cir. 1988). Defendants further 

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contend that such personnel file records are restricted from disclosure by the public 

entity’s custodian of records pursuant to applicable California law and that 

uncontrolled release is likely to result in needless intrusion of officer privacy; 

impairment in the collection of third-party witness information and statements and 

related legitimate law enforcement investigations/ interests; and a chilling of open 

and honest discussion regarding and/or investigation into alleged misconduct that 

can erode a public entity’s ability to identify and/or implement any remedial

measures that may be required.

Third, Defendants contend that, since peace officers do not have the same 

rights as other private citizens to avoid giving compelled statements, it is contrary 

to the fundamental principles of fairness to permit uncontrolled release of officers’ 

compelled statements. See generally Lybarger v. City of Los Angeles, 40 Cal.3d 

822, 828-830 (1985); cf. U.S. Const., amend V.

Accordingly, Defendants contend that, without a protective order preventing 

such, production of confidential records in the case can and will likely substantially 

impair defendant public entity’s interests in candid self-critical analysis, frank 

internal deliberations, obtaining candid information from witnesses, preserving the 

safety of witnesses, preserving the safety of peace officers and peace officers’ 

families and associates, protecting the privacy officers of peace officers, and 

preventing pending investigations from being detrimentally undermined by 

publication of private, sensitive, or confidential information – as can and often 

does result in litigation. 

1.2. Plaintiffs do not agree with and do not stipulate to Defendants’ 

contentions herein above, and nothing in this Stipulation or its associated Order 

shall resolve the parties’ disagreement, or bind them, concerning the legal 

statements and claimed privileges set forth above. However, plaintiffs agree that 

there is Good Cause for a Protective Order consistent with the terms and provisions 

of this Stipulation so as to preserve the respective interests of the parties without 

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the need to further burden the Court with such issues. 

1.3. The parties jointly contend that there is typically a particularized need 

for protection as to any medical or psychotherapeutic records and autopsy 

photographs, because of the privacy interests at stake therein. Because of these 

sensitive interests, a Court Order should address these documents rather than a 

private agreement between the parties. 

1.4. The parties therefore stipulate that there is Good Cause for, and 

hereby jointly request that the honorable Court issue/enter, a Protective Order re 

confidential documents consistent with the terms and provisions of this Stipulation. 

However, the entry of a Protective Order by the Court pursuant to this Stipulation 

shall not be construed as any ruling by the Court on the aforementioned legal 

statements or privilege claims in this section (§ 1), nor shall this section be 

construed as part of any such Court Order.

A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS.

Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve 

production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special 

protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 

prosecuting or defending this litigation would be warranted. Accordingly, the 

parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulation 

and an associated Order. 

The parties acknowledge that this Stipulation and associated Order does not 

confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the 

protection it affords extends only to the specified information or items that are 

entitled, under the applicable legal principles, to treatment as confidential. 

The parties further acknowledge, as set forth below, that this Stipulation and 

Order creates no entitlement to file confidential information under seal, except to 

the extent specified herein; Eastern District Local Rules 141, 141.1, 143, and 251 

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set(s) forth the procedures that must be followed and reflects the standards that will 

be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

Nothing in this Stipulation or associated Order shall be construed so as to 

require or mandate that any Party disclose or produce privileged information or 

records that could be designated as Confidential Documents/Protected Material 

hereunder. 

2. STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER RE CONFIDENTIAL 

RECORDS

A. DEFINITIONS.

2.1. Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, 

employees, agents, consultants, retained experts, house counsel and outside 

counsel (and/or the support staff thereof).

2.2. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 

of the medium or manner generated, stored or maintained (including, among other 

things, testimony, transcripts, or tangible things) that are produced – or generated 

in disclosures or responses to discovery – by any Party in this matter.

2.3. “Confidential” Information or Items: information (regardless of the 

medium or how generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 

protection under standards developed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) 

and/or applicable federal privileges. This material includes, but is not limited to, 

medical records, psychotherapeutic records, and autopsy photographs; as well as 

peace officer personnel records as defined by California Penal Code sections 

832.8, 832.5, 832.7 and the associated case law; and other similar confidential 

records designated as such.

2.4. Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 

Material from a Producing Party, including a Party that has noticed or subpoenaed 

and is taking a deposition or comparable testimony.

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2.5. Producing Party: a Party or non-party that produces Disclosure or 

Discovery Material in this action, including a Party that is defending a deposition 

noticed or subpoenaed by another Party; additionally, for the limited purpose of 

designating testimony subject to this Stipulation and Order pursuant to section 

6.2(b) (infra), a “Producing Party” shall also be construed to include a Party that is 

attending and/or participating in a non-party deposition noticed/subpoenaed by 

another Party.

2.6. Designating Party: a Party or non-party that designates information or 

items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 

“CONFIDENTIAL.”

2.7. Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 

designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” under the provisions of this Stipulation and

Protective Order. (The term “Confidential Document” shall be synonymous with 

the term “Protected Material” for the purposes of this Stipulation and any 

associated Protective Order.) 

2.8. Outside Counsel: attorneys who are not employees of a Party but who 

are retained to represent or advise a Party in this action (as well as their support 

staffs).

2.9. House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party (as well as 

their support staffs).

2.10. Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel and House Counsel (as 

well as their support staffs).

2.11. Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 

matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to 

serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this action and who is not a past or 

a current employee of a Party and who, at the time of retention, is not anticipated 

to become an employee of a Party or a competitor of a Party’s; as well as any 

person retained, designated, or disclosed by a Party as an expert pursuant to 

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) or other applicable discovery Rules or 

statutes. 

2.12. Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 

support services (e.g., photocopying; videotaping; translating; preparing exhibits or 

demonstrations; and/or organizing, storing, retrieving data in any form or medium; 

etc.); and their employees and subcontractors.

3. SCOPE OF PROTECTION.

The protections conferred by this Stipulation and its associated Order cover 

not only Protected Material/Confidential Documents (as defined above), but also 

(1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, 

excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, 

conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal 

Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and its 

associated Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that 

is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes 

part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of 

publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the 

public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the 

Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the 

disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no 

obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. 

Except to the extent specified herein (if any), any use of Protected Material 

at trial shall not be governed by this Order, but may be governed by a separate 

agreement or order.

4. DURATION OF PROTECTION.

 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 

imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 

otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 

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Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims 

and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment 

herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, 

trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or 

applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.

5. DESIGNATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL/CONFIDENTIAL 

DOCUMENTS.

5.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 

Each Party or non-party that designates information or items for protection 

under this Stipulation and its associated Order must take care to limit any such 

designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. A 

Designating Party must take care to designate for protection only those parts of 

material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify – so that 

other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for which 

protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this 

Order.

Mass, indiscriminate, or routine designations are prohibited. Designations 

that are shown to be clearly unjustified, or that have been made for an improper 

purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process, 

or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), expose the 

Designating Party to sanctions.

If it comes to a Party’s or a non-party’s attention that information or items 

that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection at all, or do not 

qualify for the level of protection initially asserted, that Party or non-party must 

promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

5.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 

this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, material that qualifies for 

protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 

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disclosed or produced.

Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

(a) for information in documentary form (apart from transcripts of 

depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings, and regardless of whether 

produced in hardcopy or electronic form), that the Producing Party affix the legend 

“CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 

portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 

Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 

appropriate markings in the margins) and must specify, for each portion that it is 

“CONFIDENTIAL.” The placement of such “CONFIDENTIAL” stamp on such 

page(s) shall not obstruct the substance of the page’s (or pages’) text or content.

A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available 

for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting 

Party has indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the 

inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 

inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 

identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 

determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 

Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 

affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains Protected Material. 

If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 

Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 

appropriate markings in the margins).

(b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial 

proceedings, that the Party or non-party offering or sponsoring the testimony 

identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other 

proceeding, all protected testimony, and further specify any portions of the 

testimony that qualify as “CONFIDENTIAL.” When it is impractical to identify 

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separately each portion of testimony that is entitled to protection, and when it 

appears that substantial portions of the testimony may qualify for protection, the 

Producing Party may invoke on the record (before the deposition or proceeding is 

concluded) a right to have up to twenty (20) days to identify the specific portions 

of the testimony as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Only those portions of the testimony that 

are appropriately designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” for protection within the 20 

days shall be covered by the provisions of this Stipulation and its associated 

Protective Order.

The court reporter must affix to each such transcript page containing 

Protected Material the legend “CONFIDENTIAL,” as instructed by the Producing 

Party.

(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary, and 

for any other tangible items (including but not limited to information produced on 

disc or electronic data storage device), that the Producing Party affix in a 

prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the 

information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only portions of 

the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent 

practicable, shall identify the protected portions, specifying the material as 

“CONFIDENTIAL.”

5.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected (preferably, 

though not necessarily, within 30 days of production or disclosure of such 

material), an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items as 

“CONFIDENTIAL” does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right 

to secure protection under this Stipulation and its associated Order for such 

material. If material is appropriately designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” after

the material was initially produced, the Receiving Party, on timely notification of 

the designation, must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated 

in accordance with this Stipulation and its associated Order.

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5.4. Alteration of Confidentiality Stamp Prohibited. A Receiving Party 

shall not alter, edit, or modify any Protected Material so as to conceal, obscure, or 

remove a “CONFIDENTIAL” stamp or legend thereon; nor shall a Receiving Party 

take any other action so as to make it appear that Protected Material is not subject 

to the terms and provisions of this Stipulation and its associated Order. However, 

nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prevent a Receiving Party from 

challenging a confidentiality designation subject to the provisions of section 6, 

infra. 

6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS.

6.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 

designation of confidentiality at any time prior to the final pre-trial conference with 

the Court in the matter. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s 

confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable substantial unfairness, 

unnecessary economic burdens, or a later significant disruption or delay of the 

litigation, a Party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation 

by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is 

disclosed.

6.2. Meet and Confer. Prior to challenging a confidentiality designation, a

Challenging Party shall initiate a dispute resolution process by providing written 

notice of each specific designation it is challenging, and describing the basis (and 

supporting authority or argument) for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to 

whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must recite that the 

challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific 

paragraph of the associated Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve 

each challenge in good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly (in 

voice to voice dialogue, either in person, telephonically, or by other comparable 

means, but not by correspondence) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. 

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In conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the specific basis for its 

belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the 

Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider 

the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis 

for the chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of 

the challenge process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or 

establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and 

confer process in a timely manner.

6.3. Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a confidentiality 

challenge without court intervention, the Challenging Party shall file and serve a 

motion to remove confidentiality (under the applicable rules for filing and service 

of discovery motions) within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and 

confer process will not resolve their dispute, or by the first day of trial of this 

matter, whichever date is earlier – unless the parties agree in writing to a longer 

time. 

The parties must strictly comply with Eastern District Local Rules 230 and 

251 (including the joint statement re discovery dispute requirement) in any motion 

associated with this Protective Order.

Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration 

affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements 

imposed in the preceding paragraph. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a 

motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause 

for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or 

any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be 

accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied 

with the meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 

Designating Party, regardless of whether the Designating Party is the moving party 

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or whether such Party sought or opposes judicial intervention. Frivolous 

challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose 

unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging 

Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality 

designation by failing to oppose a motion to remove confidentiality as described 

above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of 

protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the 

court rules on the challenge.

6.4. Withdrawal of “CONFIDENTIAL” Designation. At its discretion, a 

Designating Party may remove Protected Material/Confidential Documents from 

some or all of the protections and provisions of this Stipulation and its associated

Order at any time by any of the following methods: 

(a) Express Written Withdrawal. A Designating Party may withdraw a 

“CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any specified Protected Material/

Confidential Documents from some or all of the protections of this Stipulation and 

its associated Order by an express withdrawal in a writing signed by such Party (or 

such Party’s Counsel, but not including staff of such Counsel) that specifies and 

itemizes the Disclosure or Discovery Material previously designated as Protected 

Material/Confidential Documents that shall no longer be subject to all or some of 

the provisions of this Stipulation and Order. Such express withdrawal shall be 

effective when transmitted or served upon the Receiving Party. If a Designating 

Party is withdrawing Protected Material from only some of the provisions/

protections of this Stipulation and Order, such Party must state which specific 

provisions are no longer to be enforced as to the specified material for which 

confidentiality protection hereunder is withdrawn: otherwise, such withdrawal 

shall be construed as a withdrawal of such material from all of the 

protections/provisions of this Stipulation and Order;

(b) Express Withdrawal on the Record. A Designating Party may 

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withdraw a “CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any specified Protected 

Material/Confidential Documents from all of the provisions/protections of this 

Stipulation and its associated Order by verbally consenting in court proceedings on 

the record to such withdrawal – provided that such withdrawal specifies the 

Disclosure or Discovery Material previously designated as Protected Material/

Confidential Documents that shall no longer be subject to any of the provisions of 

this Stipulation and Order. A Designating Party is not permitted to withdraw 

Protected Material from only some of the protections/provisions of this Stipulation 

and Order by this method;

(c) Implicit Withdrawal by Publication or Failure to Oppose Challenge. 

A Designating Party shall be construed to have withdrawn a “CONFIDENTIAL” 

designation made to any specified Protected Material/Confidential Documents 

from all of the provisions/protections of this Stipulation and Order by either (1) 

making such Protected Material/Confidential Records part of the public record –

including but not limited to attaching such as exhibits to any filing with the court 

without moving, prior to such filing, for the court to seal such records; or (2) 

failing to timely oppose a Challenging Party’s motion to remove a 

“CONFIDENTIAL” designation to specified Protected Material/Confidential 

Documents. Nothing in this Stipulation and Order shall be construed so as to 

require any Party to file Protected Material/Confidential Documents under seal, 

unless expressly specified herein. 

7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.

7.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that 

is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a non-party in connection with this

case only for preparing, prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this 

litigation – up to and including final disposition of the above-entitled action – and 

not for any other purpose, including any other litigation or dispute outside the 

scope of this action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the 

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categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Stipulation and its 

associated Order. When the above entitled litigation has been terminated, a 

Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13, below (FINAL 

DISPOSITION). 

Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 

location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 

authorized under this Stipulation and its Order.

7.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 

otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 

Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 

CONFIDENTIAL only to:

(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of record in this action, as well 

as employees of such Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the 

information for this litigation;

(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of

the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation –

each of whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be 

bound by this Stipulation and Order;

(c) Experts (as defined in this Stipulation and Order) of the Receiving 

Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation – each of 

whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be bound 

by this Stipulation and Order;

(d) court reporters, their staffs, and Professional Vendors to whom 

disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation – each of whom, by accepting 

receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be bound by this Stipulation 

and Order;

(e) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is 

reasonably necessary – each of whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected 

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Material, thereby agree to be bound by this Stipulation and Order. Pages of 

transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 

Material must be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed 

to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulation and its Protective Order.

(f) the author or custodian of a document containing the information that 

constitutes Protected Material, or other person who otherwise possessed or knew 

the information.

7.3. Notice of Confidentiality. Prior to producing or disclosing Protected 

Material/Confidential Documents to persons to whom this Stipulation and its Order 

permits disclosure or production (see section 8.2, supra), a Receiving Party shall 

provide a copy of this Stipulation and Order to such persons so as to put such 

persons on notice as to the restrictions imposed upon them herein: except that, for 

court reporters, Professional Vendors, and for witnesses being provided with 

Protected Material during a deposition, it shall be sufficient notice for Counsel for 

the Receiving Party to give the witness a verbal admonition (on the record, for 

witnesses) regarding the provisions of this Stipulation and its Order and such 

provisions’ applicability to specified Protected Material at issue.

7.4. Reservation of Rights. Nothing in this Stipulation and Order shall be 

construed so as to require any Producing Party to designate any records or 

materials as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Nothing in this Stipulation and Order shall be 

construed so as to prevent the admission of Protected Material into evidence at the 

trial of this action, or in any appellate proceedings for this action, solely on the 

basis that such Disclosure or Discovery Material has been designated as Protected 

Material/ Confidential Documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this 

Stipulation and Order shall be construed as a waiver of any privileges or of any 

rights to object to the use or admission into evidence of any Protected Material in 

any proceeding; nor shall anything herein be construed as a concession that any 

privileges asserted or objections made are valid or applicable. Nothing in this 

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Stipulation and Order shall be construed so as to prevent the Designating Party (or 

its Counsel or custodian of records) from having access to and using Protected 

Material designated by that Party in the manner in which such persons or entities 

would typically use such materials in the normal course of their duties or 

profession – except that the waiver of confidentiality provisions shall apply (see 

section 7.4(c), supra).

7.5. Requirement to File Confidential Documents Under Seal. 

Confidential Documents may be submitted in all law and motion proceedings 

before the Court if done so under seal pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 

5.2 and 26 and/or United States District Court, Eastern District of California Local 

Rules 141, 141.1, 143, and 251 (as applicable) and pursuant to the provisions of 

this Stipulation and any associated Order. If any Receiving Party attaches any 

Confidential Documents to any pleading, motion, or other paper to be filed, 

lodged, or otherwise submitted to the Court, such Confidential Document(s) shall 

be filed/lodged under seal pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 5.2 and 26 

and/or United States District Court, Eastern District of California Local Rules 141, 

141.1, 143, and 251 to the extent applicable. 

However, this paragraph (¶ 7.5) shall not be construed so as to prevent a 

Designating Party or counsel from submitting, filing, lodging, or publishing any 

document it has previously designated as a Confidential Document without 

compliance with this paragraph’s requirement to do so under seal (i.e., a 

producing-disclosing party or counsel may submit or publish its own Confidential 

Documents without being in violation of the terms of this Stipulation and its 

Protective Order). 

Furthermore, a Receiving Party shall be exempted from the requirements of 

this paragraph as to any specifically identified Confidential Document(s) where –

prior to the submission or publication of the Confidential Document(s) at issue –

the Designating Party of such specifically identified Confidential Document(s) has 

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waived/withdrawn the protections of this Stipulation and its Order (pursuant to 

paragraph 6.4, supra).

A Receiving Party shall also be exempt from the sealing requirements of this 

paragraph (¶ 7.5) where the Confidential Documents/Protected Material at issue 

is/are not documents, records, or information regarding or incorporating: 

(1) private, personal information contained in peace officer personnel 

files (such as social security numbers, driver’s license numbers or comparable 

personal government identification numbers, residential addresses, compensation 

or pension or personal property information, credit card numbers or credit 

information, dates of birth, tax records and information, information related to the 

identity of an officer’s family members or co-residents, and comparable personal 

information about the officer or his family); 

(2) any internal affairs or comparable investigation by any law 

enforcement agency into alleged officer misconduct; and/or 

(3) the medical records or records of psychiatric or psychological 

treatment of any peace officer or party to this action. 

Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to bind the Court or its 

authorized staff so as to limit or prevent the publication of any Confidential 

Documents to the jury or factfinder, at the time of trial of this matter, where the 

Court has deemed such Confidential Documents to be admissible into evidence.

 

8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 

PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION.

If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 

that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as 

“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 

(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party, preferably (though not 

necessarily) by facsimile or electronic mail. Such notification shall include a copy 

of the subpoena or court order at issue;

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(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 

issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 

or order is subject to this Stipulation and its Protective Order. Such notification 

shall include a copy of this Stipulation and its Protective Order; and 

(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 

by all sides in any such situation, while adhering to the terms of this Stipulation 

and its Order.

If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served 

with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in 

this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which 

the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 

permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 

protection in that court of its confidential material – and nothing in these 

provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in 

this action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

The purpose of this section is to ensure that the affected Party has a 

meaningful opportunity to preserve its confidentiality interests in the court from 

which the subpoena or court order issued.

9. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.

9.1. Unauthorized Disclosure of Protected Material.

If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has 

disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized 

under this Stipulation and Order, the Receiving Party must immediately:

(a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures; 

(b) use its best efforts to retrieve all copies of the Protected Material;

(c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were 

made of all the terms of this Order; and 

(d) request such person or persons consent to be bound by the Stipulation 

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and Order.

9.2. Inadvertent Production of Privileged or Otherwise Protected Material.

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 

inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other 

protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal 

Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify 

whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for 

production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 

502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure 

of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or 

work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the 

stipulated protective order submitted to the court.

10. PUBLICATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL PROHIBITED.

10.1. Filing of Protected Material.

Without advance written permission from the Designating Party, or a court 

order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Receiving Party 

may not file in the public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that 

seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with the applicable

Federal and Local Rules.

10.2. Public Dissemination of Protected Material.

A Receiving Party shall not publish, release, post, or disseminate Protected 

Material to any persons except those specifically delineated and authorized by this 

Stipulation and its Order (see section 7, supra); nor shall a Receiving Party 

publish, release, leak, post, or disseminate Protected Material/Confidential 

Documents to any news media, member of the press, website, or public forum 

(except as permitted under section 12.1 regarding filings with the court in this 

action and under seal).

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11. FINAL DISPOSITION.

Unless otherwise ordered or agreed in writing by the Producing Party, within 

thirty (30) days after the final termination of this action (defined as the dismissal or 

entry of judgment by the above named court, or if an appeal is filed, the disposition 

of the appeal), upon written request by the Producing Party, each Receiving Party 

must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party – whether retained by the 

Receiving Party or its Counsel, Experts, Professional Vendors, agents, or any nonparty to whom the Receiving Party produced or shared such records or 

information. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all 

copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other form of reproducing or 

capturing any of the Protected Material, regardless of the medium (hardcopy, 

electronic, or otherwise) in which such Protected Material is stored or retained. 

In the alternative, at the discretion of the Receiving Party, the Receiving 

Party may destroy some or all of the Protected Material instead of returning it –

unless such Protected Material is an original, in which case, the Receiving Party 

must obtain the Producing Party’s written consent before destroying such original 

Protected Material. 

Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party 

must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 

person or entity, to the Designating Party) within thirty (30) days of the 

aforementioned written request by the Designating Party that specifically identifies 

(by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 

destroyed and that affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 

abstracts, compilations, summaries or other forms of reproducing or capturing any 

of the Protected material (in any medium, including but not limited to any 

hardcopy, electronic or digital copy, or otherwise). 

Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival 

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copy of all pleadings, motion papers, transcripts, legal memoranda filed with the 

court in this action, as well as any correspondence or attorney work product 

prepared by Counsel for the Receiving Party, even if such materials contain 

Protected Material; however, any such archival copies that contain or constitute 

Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 

(DURATION), above. This court shall retain jurisdiction in the event that a 

Designating Party elects to seek court sanctions for violation of this Stipulation and 

its Order. 

12. MISCELLANEOUS.

12.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulation and its Order 

abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

12.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of a

Protective Order pursuant to this Stipulation, no Party waives any right it otherwise 

would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any 

ground not addressed in this Stipulation and its Order. Similarly, no Party waives 

any right to object on any ground to use in evidence any of the material covered by 

this Stipulation and its Protective Order.

12.3. This Stipulation may be signed in counterpart and a facsimile or 

electronic signature shall be as valid as an original signature. 

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

///

///

///

///

///

///

///

///

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DATED: March 13, 2020

MANNING & KASS

ELLROD, RAMIREZ, TRESTER LLP

By: /s/ Mildred O’Linn

Mildred K. O’Linn

Tony M. Sain

Lynn L. Carpenter

Attorneys for Defendants, CITY OF 

FRESNO (erroneously named as two 

separate parties – CITY OF FRESNO and 

FRESNO POLICE DEPARTMENT), 

OFFICER CHRISTOPHER MARTINEZ, 

and OFFICER RICARDO LOZA

DATED: March 13, 2020 BARADAT & PABOOJIAN

By: /s/ Nolan Kane

Warren R. Paboojian, Esq.

Nolan Kane, Esq.

Attorneys for Plaintiff, LONDON 

WALLACE

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

1. SCOPE OF PROTECTION.

The protections conferred by the parties’ Stipulation and this Order cover 

not only Protected Material/Confidential Documents (as defined above), but also 

(1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, 

excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, 

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conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal 

Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by the parties’ Stipulation 

and this Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is 

in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part 

of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of 

publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the 

public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the 

Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the 

disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no 

obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. 

The Definitions section of the parties' associated Stipulation (§ 2) is 

incorporated by reference herein. 

Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the Orders 

of the trial judge: this Stipulation and its associated Protective Order do not 

govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 

2. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS.

Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve 

production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special 

protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 

prosecuting or defending this litigation would be warranted. Accordingly, the 

parties have stipulated to and petitioned the court to enter the following Order. 

The parties have acknowledged that this Order does not confer blanket 

protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 

affords extends only to the specified information or items that are entitled, under 

the applicable legal principles, to treatment as confidential. 

The parties further acknowledge, as set forth below, that this Order creates 

no entitlement to file confidential information under seal, except to the extent 

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specified herein; Eastern District Local Rules 141, 141.1, 143, 230 and/or 251 

forth the procedures that must be followed and reflects the standards that will be 

applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

Nothing in this Order shall be construed so as to require or mandate that any 

Party disclose or produce privileged information or records that could be 

designated as Confidential Documents/Protected Material hereunder. 

3. DURATION OF PROTECTION.

Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 

imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 

otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 

Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims 

and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment 

herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, 

trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or 

applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.

4. DESIGNATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

4.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 

Each Party or non-party that designates information or items for protection under 

the parties’ Stipulation and this Order must take care to limit any such designation 

to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. A Designating 

Party must take care to designate for protection only those parts of material, 

documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify – so that other 

portions of the material, documents, items or communications for which protection 

is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.

Mass, indiscriminate, or routine designations are prohibited. Designations 

that are shown to be clearly unjustified, or that have been made for an improper 

purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or inhibit the case development process, 

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or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), expose the 

Designating Party to sanctions.

If it comes to a Party’s or a non-party’s attention that information or items 

that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection at all, or do not 

qualify for the level of protection initially asserted, that Party or non-party must 

promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

4.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 

this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, material that qualifies for 

protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 

disclosed or produced.

Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

(a) for information in documentary form (apart from transcripts of 

depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings, and regardless of whether 

produced in hardcopy or electronic form), that the Producing Party affix the legend 

“CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 

portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 

Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 

appropriate markings in the margins) and must specify, for each portion that it is 

“CONFIDENTIAL.” The placement of such “CONFIDENTIAL” stamp on such 

page(s) shall not obstruct the substance of the page’s (or pages’) text or content.

A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available 

for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting 

Party has indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the 

inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 

inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 

identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 

determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 

Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 

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affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains Protected Material. 

If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 

Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 

appropriate markings in the margins).

(b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial 

proceedings, that the Party or non-party offering or sponsoring the testimony 

identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other 

proceeding, all protected testimony, and further specify any portions of the 

testimony that qualify as “CONFIDENTIAL.” When it is impractical to identify 

separately each portion of testimony that is entitled to protection, and when it 

appears that substantial portions of the testimony may qualify for protection, the 

Producing Party may invoke on the record (before the deposition or proceeding is 

concluded) a right to have up to twenty (20) days to identify the specific portions 

of the testimony as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Only those portions of the testimony 

that are appropriately designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” for protection within the 

20 days shall be covered by the provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this 

Protective Order.

Transcript pages containing Protected Material must be separately bound by 

the court reporter, who must affix to each such page the legend 

“CONFIDENTIAL,” as instructed by the Producing Party.

(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary, and 

for any other tangible items (including but not limited to information produced on 

disc or electronic data storage device), that the Producing Party affix in a 

prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the 

information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only portions of 

the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent 

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practicable, shall identify the protected portions, specifying the material as 

“CONFIDENTIAL.”

4.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected (preferably, 

though not necessarily, within 30 days of production or disclosure of such 

material), an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items as 

“CONFIDENTIAL” does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right 

to secure protection under the parties’ Stipulation and this Order for such material. 

If material is appropriately designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” after the material 

was initially produced, the Receiving Party, on timely notification of the 

designation, must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in 

accordance with the parties’ Stipulation and this Order.

4.4. Alteration of Confidentiality Stamp Prohibited. A Receiving Party 

shall not alter, edit, or modify any Protected Material so as to conceal, obscure, or 

remove a “CONFIDENTIAL” stamp or legend thereon; nor shall a Receiving Party 

take any other action so as to make it appear that Protected Material is not subject 

to the terms and provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order. However, 

nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prevent a Receiving Party from 

challenging a confidentiality designation subject to the provisions of section 4, 

infra. 

5. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS.

5.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 

designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court's 

Scheduling Order. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s 

confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable substantial unfairness, 

unnecessary economic burdens, or a later significant disruption or delay of the 

litigation, a Party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation 

by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is 

disclosed.

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5.2. Meet and Confer. Prior to challenging a confidentiality designation, a

Challenging Party shall initiate a dispute resolution process by providing written 

notice of each specific designation it is challenging, and describing the basis (and 

supporting authority or argument) for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to 

whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must recite that the 

challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific 

paragraph of this Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each 

challenge in good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly (in voice 

to voice dialogue, either in person, telephonically, or by other comparable means, 

but not by correspondence) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. 

In conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the specific basis for its 

belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the 

Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider 

the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis 

for the chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of 

the challenge process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or 

establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and 

confer process in a timely manner. 

Frivolous challenges, and those challenges made for an improper purpose 

(e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), may 

expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. 

5.3. Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a confidentiality 

challenge without court intervention, the Challenging Party shall file and serve a 

motion to remove confidentiality (under the applicable rules for filing and service 

of discovery motions) within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and 

confer process will not resolve their dispute, or by the first day of trial of this 

matter, whichever date is earlier – unless the parties agree in writing to a longer 

time. 

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The parties must strictly comply with Eastern District Local Rules 141, 

141.1, 143, 230 and/or 251 (including the joint statement re discovery dispute 

requirement) in any motion associated with this Protective Order.

Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration 

affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements 

imposed in the preceding paragraph. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a 

motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause 

for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or 

any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be 

accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied 

with the meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 

Designating Party, regardless of whether the Designating Party is the moving party 

or whether such Party sought or opposes judicial intervention. Frivolous 

challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose 

unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging 

Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality 

designation by failing to oppose a motion to remove confidentiality as described 

above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of 

protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the 

court rules on the challenge.

5.4. Withdrawal of “CONFIDENTIAL” Designation. At its discretion, a 

Designating Party may remove Protected Material/Confidential Documents from 

some or all of the protections and provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this

Order at any time by any of the following methods: 

(a) Express Written Withdrawal. A Designating Party may withdraw a 

“CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any specified Protected 

Material/Confidential Documents from some or all of the protections of the parties’ 

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Stipulation and this Order by an express withdrawal in a writing signed by such 

Party (or such Party’s Counsel, but not including staff of such Counsel) that 

specifies and itemizes the Disclosure or Discovery Material previously designated 

as Protected Material/Confidential Documents that shall no longer be subject to all 

or some of the provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and Order. Such express 

withdrawal shall be effective when transmitted or served upon the Receiving Party. 

If a Designating Party is withdrawing Protected Material from only some of the 

provisions/protections of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order, such Party must 

state which specific provisions are no longer to be enforced as to the specified 

material for which confidentiality protection hereunder is withdrawn: otherwise, 

such withdrawal shall be construed as a withdrawal of such material from all of the 

protections/provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order;

(b) Express Withdrawal on the Record. A Designating Party may 

withdraw a “CONFIDENTIAL” designation made to any specified Protected 

Material/ Confidential Documents from all of the provisions/protections of the 

parties’ Stipulation and this Order by verbally consenting in court proceedings on 

the record to such withdrawal – provided that such withdrawal specifies the 

Disclosure or Discovery Material previously designated as Protected 

Material/Confidential Documents that shall no longer be subject to any of the 

provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order. A Designating Party is not 

permitted to withdraw Protected Material from only some of the protections/

provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order by this method;

(c) Implicit Withdrawal by Publication or Failure to Oppose Challenge. 

A Designating Party shall be construed to have withdrawn a “CONFIDENTIAL” 

designation made to any specified Protected Material/Confidential Documents 

from all of the provisions/protections of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order by 

either (1) making such Protected Material/Confidential Records part of the public 

record – including but not limited to attaching such as exhibits to any filing with 

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the court without moving, prior to such filing, for the court to seal such records; or 

(2) failing to timely oppose a Challenging Party’s motion to remove a 

“CONFIDENTIAL” designation to specified Protected Material/Confidential 

Documents. 

Nothing in the parties’ Stipulation and this Order shall be construed so as to 

require any Party to file Protected Material/Confidential Documents under seal, 

unless expressly specified herein. 

6. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.

6.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that 

is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a non-party in connection with this 

case only for preparing, prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this 

litigation – up to and including final disposition of the above-entitled action – and 

not for any other purpose, including any other litigation or dispute outside the 

scope of this action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the 

categories of persons and under the conditions described in the parties’ Stipulation 

and this Order. When the above entitled litigation has been terminated, a 

Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 9, below (FINAL 

DISPOSITION). 

Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 

location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 

authorized under the parties’ Stipulation and its Order.

6.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 

otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 

Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 

CONFIDENTIAL only to:

(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of record in this action, as well 

as employees of such Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the 

information for this litigation;

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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 

the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation –

each of whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be 

bound by the parties’ Stipulation and this Order;

(c) Experts (as defined in the parties’ Stipulation and this Order) of the 

Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation –

each of whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be 

bound by the parties’ Stipulation and this Order;

(d) court reporters, their staffs, and Professional Vendors to whom 

disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation – each of whom, by accepting 

receipt of such Protected Material, thereby agree to be bound by the parties’ 

Stipulation and this Order;

(e) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is 

reasonably necessary – each of whom, by accepting receipt of such Protected 

Material, thereby agree to be bound by the parties’ Stipulation and this Order. 

Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 

Protected Material may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under the 

parties’ Stipulation and this Protective Order.

(f) the author or custodian of a document containing the information that 

constitutes Protected Material, or other person who otherwise possessed or knew 

the information.

6.3. Notice of Confidentiality. Prior to producing or disclosing Protected 

Material/Confidential Documents to persons to whom the parties’ Stipulation and

this Order permits disclosure or production (see section 5.2, supra), a Receiving 

Party shall provide a copy of the parties’ Stipulation and Order to such persons so 

as to put such persons on notice as to the restrictions imposed upon them herein: 

except that, for court reporters, Professional Vendors, and for witnesses being 

provided with Protected Material during a deposition, it shall be sufficient notice 

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for Counsel for the Receiving Party to give the witness a verbal admonition (on the 

record, for witnesses) regarding the provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this 

Order and such provisions’ applicability to specified Protected Material at issue.

6.4. Reservation of Rights. Nothing in the parties’ Stipulation and this 

Order shall be construed so as to require any Producing Party to designate any 

records or materials as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Nothing in the parties’ Stipulation or

this Order shall be construed so as to prevent the admission of Protected Material 

into evidence at the trial of this action, or in any appellate proceedings for this 

action, solely on the basis that such Disclosure or Discovery Material has been 

designated as Protected Material/Confidential Documents. Notwithstanding the 

foregoing, nothing in the parties’ Stipulation or this Order shall be construed as a 

waiver of any privileges or of any rights to object to the use or admission into 

evidence of any Protected Material in any proceeding; nor shall anything herein be 

construed as a concession that any privileges asserted or objections made are valid 

or applicable. 

Nothing in the parties’ Stipulation or this Order shall be construed so as to 

prevent the Designating Party (or its Counsel or custodian of records) from having 

access to and using Protected Material designated by that Party in the manner in 

which such persons or entities would typically use such materials in the normal 

course of their duties or profession – except that the waiver of confidentiality 

provisions shall apply (see section 4.4(c), supra).

6.5. Requirement to File Confidential Documents Under Seal. 

Confidential Documents may be submitted in all law and motion proceedings 

before the Court if done so under seal pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 

5.2 and 26 and/or United States District Court, Eastern District of California Local 

Rules 141, 141.1, 143, 230 and/or 251 (as applicable) and pursuant to the 

provisions of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order. If any Receiving Party 

attaches any Confidential Documents to any pleading, motion, or other paper to be 

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filed, lodged, or otherwise submitted to the Court, such Confidential Document(s) 

shall be filed/lodged under seal pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 5.2 

and 26 and/or United States District Court, Eastern District of California Local 

Rules 141, 141.1, 143, 230 and/or 251 to the extent applicable. 

However, this paragraph (¶ 6.5) shall not be construed so as to prevent a 

Designating Party or counsel from submitting, filing, lodging, or publishing any 

document it has previously designated as a Confidential Document without 

compliance with this paragraph’s requirement to do so under seal (i.e., a 

producing-disclosing party or counsel may submit or publish its own Confidential 

Documents without being in violation of the terms of the parties’ Stipulation and 

this Protective Order). 

Furthermore, a Receiving Party shall be exempted from the requirements of 

this paragraph as to any specifically identified Confidential Document(s) where –

prior to the submission or publication of the Confidential Document(s) at issue –

the Designating Party of such specifically identified Confidential Document(s) has 

waived/withdrawn the protections of the parties’ Stipulation and this Order 

(pursuant to paragraph 4.4, supra).

A Receiving Party shall also be exempt from the sealing requirements of this 

paragraph (¶ 6.5) where the Confidential Documents/Protected Material at issue 

is/are not documents, records, or information regarding: 

(1) private, personal information contained in peace officer personnel 

files (such as social security numbers, driver’s license numbers or comparable 

personal government identification numbers, residential addresses, compensation 

or pension or personal property information, credit card numbers or credit 

information, dates of birth, tax records and information, information related to the 

identity of an officer’s family members or co-residents, and comparable personal 

information about the officer or his family); 

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(2) any internal affairs or comparable investigation by any law 

enforcement agency into alleged officer misconduct; and/or 

(3) the medical records or records of psychiatric or psychological 

treatment of any peace officer or party to this action. 

Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to bind the Court or its 

authorized staff so as to limit or prevent the publication of any Confidential 

Documents to the jury or factfinder, at the time of trial of this matter, where the 

Court has deemed such Confidential Documents to be admissible into evidence. 

7. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 

PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION.

If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 

compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as 

“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 

(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party, preferably (though not 

necessarily) by facsimile or electronic mail. Such notification shall include a copy 

of the subpoena or court order at issue;

(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 

issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 

or order is subject to the parties’ Stipulation and this Protective Order. Such 

notification shall include a copy of the parties’ Stipulation and this Protective 

Order; and 

(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 

by all sides in any such situation, while adhering to the terms of the parties’ 

Stipulation and this Order.

If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served 

with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in 

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this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which 

the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 

permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 

protection in that court of its confidential material – and nothing in these 

provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in 

this action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

The purpose of this section is to ensure that the affected Party has a 

meaningful opportunity to preserve its confidentiality interests in the court from 

which the subpoena or court order issued.

8. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.

8.1. Unauthorized Disclosure of Protected Material.

If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 

Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under the 

parties’ Stipulation and this Order, the Receiving Party must immediately:

(a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures; 

(b) use its best efforts to retrieve all copies of the Protected Material;

(c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were 

made of all the terms of this Order; and 

(d) request such person or persons consent to be bound by the Stipulation 

and this Order.

8.2. Inadvertent Production of Privileged or Otherwise Protected Material.

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently 

produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the 

obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 

procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 

without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 

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(e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 

communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 

product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 

protective order submitted to the court.

9. PUBLICATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL PROHIBITED.

9.1. Filing of Protected Material.

Without advance written permission from the Designating Party, or a court 

order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Receiving Party 

may not file in the public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that 

seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with the applicable

Federal and Local Rules.

9.2. Public Dissemination of Protected Material.

A Receiving Party shall not publish, release, post, or disseminate Protected 

Material to any persons except those specifically delineated and authorized by the 

parties’ Stipulation and this Order (see section 5, supra); nor shall a Receiving 

Party publish, release, leak, post, or disseminate Protected Material/Confidential 

Documents to any news media, member of the press, website, or public forum 

(except as permitted under this Order regarding filings with the court in this action 

and under seal).

10. FINAL DISPOSITION.

Unless otherwise ordered or agreed in writing by the Producing Party, within 

thirty (30) days after the final termination of this action (defined as the dismissal or 

entry of judgment by the above named court, or if an appeal is filed, the disposition 

of the appeal), upon written request by the Producing Party, each Receiving Party 

must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party – whether retained by the 

Receiving Party or its Counsel, Experts, Professional Vendors, agents, or any nonparty to whom the Receiving Party produced or shared such records or 

information. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all 

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copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other form of reproducing or 

capturing any of the Protected Material, regardless of the medium (hardcopy, 

electronic, or otherwise) in which such Protected Material is stored or retained. 

In the alternative, at the discretion of the Receiving Party, the Receiving 

Party may destroy some or all of the Protected Material instead of returning it –

unless such Protected Material is an original, in which case, the Receiving Party 

must obtain the Producing Party’s written consent before destroying such original 

Protected Material. 

Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party 

must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 

person or entity, to the Designating Party) within thirty (30) days of the 

aforementioned written request by the Designating Party that specifically identifies 

(by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 

destroyed and that affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 

abstracts, compilations, summaries or other forms of reproducing or capturing any 

of the Protected material (in any medium, including but not limited to any 

hardcopy, electronic or digital copy, or otherwise). 

Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival 

copy of all pleadings, motion papers, transcripts, legal memoranda filed with the 

court in this action, as well as any correspondence or attorney work product 

prepared by Counsel for the Receiving Party, even if such materials contain 

Protected Material; however, any such archival copies that contain or constitute 

Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 2, 

above. This court shall retain jurisdiction in the event that a Designating Party 

elects to seek court sanctions for violation of the parties’ Stipulation and this 

Order. 

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11. MISCELLANEOUS.

11.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in the parties’ Stipulation or this 

Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the 

future.

11.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

Protective Order pursuant to the parties’ Stipulation, no Party waives any right it 

otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item 

on any ground not addressed in the parties’ Stipulation or this Order. Similarly, no 

Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence any of the 

material covered by the parties’ Stipulation and this Protective Order.

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ORDER ENTERING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Pursuant to the stipulation of the parties, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. The above stipulated protective order is entered;

2. The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States 

District Court, Eastern District of California, any documents which are to be filed 

under seal will require a written request which complies with Local Rule 141; 

3. The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to show 

good cause for documents attached to a nondispositive motion or compelling 

reasons for documents attached to a dispositive motion. Pintos v. Pacific 

Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-78 (9th Cir. 2009); and

4. If a party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, 

then the previously filed material shall be immediately accepted by the court and 

become information in the public record and the information will be deemed filed 

as of the date that the request to file the Protected Information under seal was 

made. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: March 13, 2020 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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