Toscano v. Greene Music, 124 Cal. App. 4th 685 (2004)
Joseph Toscano sued Greene Music on a theory of promissory estoppel after Toscano quit his job as a general manager of Fields Pianos to take a sales management position with Greene. Toscano resigned from Fields in reliance upon Greene’s promise of at-will employment. Two weeks before Toscano was scheduled to begin his new job
Hawkins v. Pacific Coast Bldg. Products, Inc., 124 Cal. App. 4th 1497 (2004)
In his racial harassment and discrimination lawsuit against his former employer, Leroy Hawkins erroneously identified the employer (Pacific Coast) as "Basalite Corporation," a variation of its fictitious business name, "Basalite." Pacific Coast moved to quash service of the complaint on the ground that Hawkins had failed properly to designate the company
Lujan v. Minagar, 124 Cal. App. 4th 1040 (2004)
Shala Minagar, the owner of a beauty salon in Malibu, fired two employees (including one who had made a complaint to Cal-OSHA) the day the agency inspected the salon and cited Minagar for several minor workplace safety violations. The Labor Commissioner cited Minagar for firing one of the employees (Noelle Dianella), and the Department of
Jespersen v. Harrah’s Operating Co., 444 F.3d 1104 (9th Cir. 2004)
Darlene Jespersen, a former bartender at Harrah’s, filed this Title VII action, alleging the casino had discriminated against her on the basis of her sex when she was fired for refusing to comply with the casino’s appearance standards policy requiring all female beverage servers to wear makeup. (Harrah’s "Personal Best" appearance standards also
City of San Diego v. Roe, 543 U.S. 77 125 S. Ct. 521 (2004) (per curiam)
While working as a San Diego police officer, "John Roe" videotaped himself stripping off a generic police officer’s uniform and engaging in acts of masturbation. Roe sold the videos on the adults-only section of eBay – under the username "Code3stud@aol.com." After one of Roe’s supervisors discovered the videos
Toshiba Am. Elec. Components, Inc. v. Superior Court, 124 Cal. App. 4th 762 (2004)
Lexar Media, Inc. sued Toshiba for misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair competition. In response to Lexar’s demand for production of documents, including email messages, Toshiba produced more than 20,000 pages. Although additional responsive material was stored on Toshiba’s computer backup tapes, Toshiba’s electronic discovery specialist
Rietveld v. Rosebud Storage Partners, L.P., 121 Cal. App. 4th 250 (2004)
Jon and Carole Rietveld sued their former employer, Rosebud Storage Partners, for breach of contract and fraud. Following entry of summary judgment in favor of Rosebud, the Rietvelds and their attorney, Lyle Havens, appealed. In the published portion of the opinion, the Court of Appeal considered Havens’s appeal of a $2,380 sanctions
Stevens v. Brink’s Home Security, 378 F.3d 944 (2004)
David Stevens and Donald Goines filed a class action in Washington state court against Brink’s Home Security for unpaid wages and overtime pay under state law. Brink’s removed the action to federal court on the basis of diversity of citizenship. Twenty days after the removal, Stevens and Goines filed a motion to amend the complaint
Huffman v. Interstate Brands Companies, 121 Cal. App. 4th 679 (2004)
After Interstate Brands demoted Daniel Huffman from a district sales manager to a division sales manager, he filed a lawsuit alleging age discrimination and wrongful demotion in violation of public policy. At trial, the judge allowed Huffman to testify about the injury to his knees that occurred when he had to load and
Diaz v. Gates, 380 F.3d 480 (9th Cir. 2004)
David Diaz sued Daryl Gates, Willie Williams, Bernard Parks and many others, alleging violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") as a result of damages he allegedly suffered from police misconduct associated with the LAPD Rampart scandal. One of the elements of a RICO claim is that the plaintiff must prove that