Opinion
Tomas A. Guterres, Esq., Michael B. McDonald, Esq., COLLINS COLLINS MUIR + STEWART LLP, South Pasadena, CA, Attorneys for Defendants, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, JERRY POWERS, BOOKER WAUGH, and LES SMITH.
JORGE GONZALEZ, A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION Jorge Gonzalez, Attorney for Plaintiff, R.D.C.
STIPULATION RE: JUVENILE COURT CASE FILES AND PROPOSED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Plaintiff, R.D.C., a Minor, by and through his Guardian ad Litem, MARIA TERESA PENALOZA ("Plaintiff") on the one hand and Defendants, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, JERRY POWERS, BOOKER WAUGH, and LES SMITH (collectively, "Defendants") on the other, through their attorneys of record, submit this stipulation to request that this Court issue an order directing the County of Los Angeles Superior Court - Juvenile Division clerk to produce all of the Juvenile Records and Juvenile Court Case File documents of the individuals identified herein below for copying and to allow the parties to use these documents for purposes of this litigation subject to an appropriate protective order. The Juvenile Records and Juvenile Court Case Files sought by way of this stipulation relate to the following individuals:
1. R.D.C. (Juvenile Case No. PJ50962/PDJ # P346285; D.O.B. 01/27/1997);
2. B.R.B. (Juvenile Case No. PDJ # P287795; D.O.B. 05/05/1998);
The above documents shall be made available to all counsel in this litigation by the procedures and methods set forth below and shall only be used for the limited purpose of the subject civil action.
The clerk of the Juvenile Court upon receipt of this Order will arrange for a date within 14 days of such Order, whereby a licensed and bonded copy and/or scanning company agreed upon by all counsel, may report to the Clerk's office at 201 Centre Plaza Drive, Monterey Park, CA 91754 to copy and/or scan the documents on-site. The documents produced pursuant to this Order will be electronically Bates stamped in the Adobe Acrobat software by the copy company after scanning. The copy company will then distribute copies of the disks to each party; and then delete any copies of any documents, in any form, once receipt is confirmed by all counsel of functioning disks containing the scanned documents. The costs of the scanning and distribution shall be shared equally between the parties.
If any document is to be attached or used in the civil case, such document shall be treated pursuant to the requirements of the parties' duly filed proposed protective order signed by the federal court.
The Parties stipulate that good cause exists to issue an order to release the above identified records on the following grounds:
The Complaint alleges Federal Civil Rights violations; violations of the American With Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and State claims of violations of Government Code §§ 11135 and 815.2.
Plaintiff, R.D.C. (dob: 01/27/1997), a juvenile ward at the Los Angeles County Probation Department - Dorothy Kirby Center, alleges that on June 19, 2013, he was "sucker punched" in the face by another juvenile ward, B.R.B. (dob: 5/5/1998) and sustained injury. Plaintiff claims to have been diagnosed with "bi-polar" disorder and alleges that County failed to protect him from other, non-disabled inmates who had a propensity for violence;
Given the nature of Plaintiff's allegations, information contained in the juvenile case files of Plaintiff and third party minor B.R.B. is relevant and will be central to the Parties' investigations and analyses of the circumstances surrounding the incident at issue. Moreover, the documents and information contained in the juvenile records and court files of R.D.C. and B.R.B. are essential for the defense of Defendants to establish the information known at the time of the incident; the circumstances regarding the placement and supervision of each, including but not limited to information as to the mental health condition of each; behavioral issues; history of incidents and the like;
The confidential information contained in Plaintiff and third party minor B.R.B.'s juvenile case files is confidential and protected from disclosure under California Welfare & Institutions Code section 827, et seq.;
Defendants filed their "Request for Disclosure of Juvenile Case File" as to Plaintiff and third party minor B.R.B. on December 31, 2014.
The Juvenile Court denied Defendants' "Request for Disclosure of Juvenile Case File" as to Plaintiff on March 5, 2015; but has not issued a response to Defendants' December 31, 2014 "Request for Disclosure of Juvenile Case File" as to third party minor B.R.B. as of the date of this stipulation;
The denial of Defendants' request for disclosure as to Plaintiff's juvenile court file and the Juvenile Court's lack of response as to Defendants' request for disclosure as to B.R.B. has severely inhibited the Parties from engaging in meaningful discovery in the instant case;
Furthermore, it is anticipated that Plaintiff will be desirous of discovery regarding information and files in which Defendants claim a privacy interest and protection under the official information privilege and/or Cal. Evid. Code §§ 1040, 1043, and 1045 et seq., Cal. Penal Code § 832.7, and the Peace Officers' Bill of Rights;
The Parties believe and agree that the order this Court provides is necessary to obtain the above identified records so that discovery in this matter can proceed as planned;
Therefore, the Parties, by and through their undersigned counsel of record, hereby stipulate to the following terms regarding the disclosure, dissemination, and production of Plaintiff's and third party minor B.R.B.'s Juvenile Court case file (the "Records") in the above captioned matter:
1. The released Records shall only be used for the limited purpose of this civil action (Case No. CV 14-6014 DMG SHx);
2. If any Records are attached to a document filed or submitted in this civil action, such Records shall be filed under seal;
3. Except as necessary in this civil action, the released Records shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the parties, their counsel (including investigators and adjusters), experts, and if applicable, the insurance carrier of the defendants;
4. The Records may be disclosed for the purposes of trial in this civil action, subject to admissibility; and
5. Upon conclusion of this civil action, all released documents are to be destroyed.
IT IS SO STIPULATED.