Advanced Modular Sputtering, Inc. v. Superior Court, 132 Cal. App. 4th 826 (2005)

Within four years of being laid off from their jobs at Sputtered Films, Sergey Mishin and Rose Stuart-Curran started their own company (Advanced Modular Sputtering), which became a competitor of Sputtered. In its lawsuit against AMS, Sputtered alleged that Mishin and Curran had misappropriated its trade secrets in order to develop…

Green v. State of Cal., 132 Cal. App. 4th 97 (2005)

Dwight Green worked as a stationary engineer at a state correctional facility for over 12 years before he was involuntarily placed on disability retirement. A jury found that in failing to provide Green reasonable accommodation for his Hepatitis C condition, the state discriminated against him on the basis of his disability in violation…

Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc., 132 Cal. App. 4th 590 (2005)

In accordance with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Proposition 215), Gary Ross had a physician’s recommendation to use marijuana for his chronic back pain. Ragingwire offered Ross a job as a lead systems administrator subject to his passing a drug test, which he failed when he tested positive for THC (the active…

Yanowitz v. L’Oréal USA, Inc., 36 Cal. 4th 1028 (2005)

Elysa Yanowitz, a regional sales manager for L’Oréal USA, Inc., alleged that after refusing to carry out an order from a male supervisor to terminate the employment of a female sales associate who was not sufficiently sexually attractive, Yanowitz was subjected to hostile adverse treatment, resulting in her leaving the company. Among other things,…

Miller v. Department of Corrections, 36 Cal. 4th 446 (2005)

Edna Miller and Frances Mackey, two former employees of the Valley State Prison for Women, alleged the warden accorded unwarranted favorable treatment to three female employees with whom he was having sexual affairs and that such conduct constituted sexual harassment (in the form of a hostile environment) against Miller and Mackey in violation of…

Jeld-Wen, Inc. v. Superior Court, 131 Cal. App. 4th 853 (2005)

In this wrongful death action arising from a motor vehicle collision, the decedent’s survivors sued Jeld-Wen and its employee Hector Solis on various negligence theories, including a claim that Jeld-Wen had negligently entrusted the vehicle to Solis. Jeld-Wen moved for summary adjudication of the negligent entrustment claim on the ground that it had…

El-Hakem v. BJY, Inc., 415 F.3d 1068 (9th Cir. 2005)

Mamdouh El-Hakem sued his employer, BJY, Inc., and its CEO for employment discrimination and wrongful termination arising from the CEO’s repeated references to him as “Manny” (over the employee’s objection). The CEO contended that a “Western” name would increase El-Hakem’s chances for success and would be more acceptable to BJY’s clientele. The Ninth…

Leegin Creative Leather Prods., Inc. v. Diaz, 131 Cal. App. 4th 1517 (2005)

Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. filed a civil fraud complaint against one of its employees after it learned that the employee had filed a false workers’ compensation claim against the company. Leegin alleged that it had been damaged by the filing of the false claim because its insurance premiums and reserves…

Peralta v. Hispanic Business, Inc., 419 F.3d 1064 (9th Cir. 2005)

Carmen Peralta worked as a special events manager for Hispanic Business, Inc. (HBI). Between January 1, 1999 and July 2000, HBI provided a long-term disability (LTD) insurance policy to its employees, including Peralta. In July 2000, HBI cancelled the LTD policy; in October 2000, Peralta was injured in an automobile accident in which…

People v. Jiang, 131 Cal. App. 4th 1027 (2005)

Weibin Jiang was arrested and charged with committing sexual offenses against an acquaintance. While he was out on bail, Jiang prepared numerous password-protected documents for his attorneys, which he saved in a folder labeled “Attorney” on his employer-issued laptop computer. The prosecutor obtained the documents by subpoenaing them from the employer (Cadence Design Systems) and…