Employment

Successfully obtained an early dismissal of an employment action filed against Sutter County after the Court sustained a Demurrer with prejudice on grounds that Plaintiffs’ case was barred by the doctrine of judicial estoppel.  The Court agreed that plaintiff could not pursue the action based on allegations that contradicted an earlier lawsuit.

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of the County of Colusa in an employment discrimination and retaliation case brought under the Fair Employment & Housing Act and the ADA. The plaintiff was terminated by the County for rude and unprofessional behavior after 16 years of employment. She sued the County claiming that her behavior was a symptom of a brain injury she sustained several years prior to her employment with the County. In granting summary judgment, the federal court held that the plaintiff had not established that she had a qualified disability and that, even if she did, the County did not have knowledge of the alleged disability when it made the decision to terminate her employment.

Firm obtained a defense verdict for the County of Nevada in a retaliation case.  Plaintiffs, husband and wife, sued the Sheriff’s Department for violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The wife claimed she was terminated after she made a complaint of sexual harassment.  The husband claimed the department retaliated against him by creating intolerable working conditions forcing him to quit.  The Jury rejected both claims, finding that County neither violated any protected conduct engaged in by the plaintiffs nor acted inappropriately in the decisions and actions it took.

Shareholder Derek Haynes successfully defended a local county in the Third District Court of Appeal in a retaliation case under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Court of Appeal ultimately affirmed the trial court’s granting of Summary Judgment on a novel issue relating to exhaustion of administrative remedies. Specifically, the Court found that Plaintiff failed to adequately exhaust his remedies with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) because his DFEH charge did not specifically identify the protected activity that purportedly motivated the retaliatory actions.

Defense verdict obtained in jury trial on behalf of local public utility. A former Sacramento Municipal Utility District employee resigned after thirty years of employment and sued for race discrimination, race harassment and retaliation.  During trial, SMUD presented evidence that Plaintiff actually resigned because it helped her in bankruptcy.  Plaintiff claimed that she was forced her to resign because of a hostile work environment and asked the jury for one million dollars in economic damages and an unspecified amount for emotional distress. The jury deliberated for less than two hours and returned with a defense verdict on all claims.