Amber Widby v. County of Los Angeles, Eli Vera, Angela Carrasco, and Does 1-20, inclusive

Summary

This document is a court-approved stipulated protective order in a federal civil rights action against the County of Los Angeles and individual defendants. It governs the designation, disclosure, use, challenge, filing under seal, return, and destruction of confidential discovery materials, including law-enforcement, correctional, medical, and personal information.

Holdings

1. Good cause supported entry of a protective order limiting disclosure and use of qualifying confidential discovery material in the litigation.
2. Confidentiality designations must be limited to material that qualifies for protection; blanket, mass, indiscriminate, or tactical designations are not permitted.
3. The protective order does not itself authorize filing confidential material under seal; a party must comply with Local Rule 79-5 and obtain a court order supported by the applicable good-cause or compelling-reasons showing.
4. A party or nonparty may challenge a confidentiality designation through the procedures specified in the order, and the designating party bears the burden of persuasion unless the designation is withdrawn or waived.

Questions Presented

1. Whether good cause supported entry of a stipulated protective order governing confidential discovery material.
2. What procedures and standards must govern designating, using, challenging, filing, and disposing of protected material.
3. Whether the protective order could permit filing confidential material under seal without a separate court order and the required showing under applicable sealing rules.

Disposition

other