California Employment Law Notes

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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…

Reeves v. Hanlon, 33 Cal. 4th 1140 (2004)

Attorney Robert L. Reeves filed a lawsuit against attorneys Daniel P. Hanlon and Colin T. Greene and their law firm, Hanlon & Greene (H&G), after Hanlon and Greene abruptly resigned from their positions with Reeves & Hanlon (R&H) and allegedly persuaded certain R&H employees to join H&G, solicited R&H’s clients, misappropriated trade secrets, destroyed computer files…

Haney v. Aramark Uniform Services, Inc., 121 Cal. App. 4th 623 (2004)

Michael Haney, a route sales representative for Aramark and a member of Teamsters Local 431, alleged that his employment was terminated in violation of public policy after he complained to Aramark about its allegedly fraudulent billing practices. Aramark filed a motion for summary adjudication in response to Haney’s wrongful termination claim on…

United States v. Karaouni, 379 F.3d 1139 (9th Cir. 2004)

Ali Abdulatif Karaouni checked a box on an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form next to the printed statement: "I attest, under penalty of perjury, that I am…[a] citizen or national of the United States." In fact, Karaouni was born in and is a citizen of Lebanon. In February 1995, an Immigration Judge ordered Karaouni…

Sav-on Drug Stores, Inc. v. Superior Court, 34 Cal. 4th 319 (2004)

Plaintiffs in this case sought to certify a class of between 600 and 1,400 current and former operating managers and assistant managers of Savon Drug Stores. The managers contended that they had been misclassified as employees exempt from overtime in that they spent more than 50 percent of their time doing non-exempt…