California Employment Law Update

Tag Archives: discovery

EEOC Is Entitled To More Information From Employer In Connection With Sex Discrimination Case­

EEOC v. McLane Co., 2015 WL 6457965 (9th Cir. 2015) Damiana Ochoa filed a charge with the EEOC alleging sex discrimination (based on pregnancy) in violation of Title VII, when, after s­­he tried to return to her job following maternity leave, her employer (McLane Co.) informed her that she could not come back to the … Continue Reading

Google Required To Produce Emails In Response To Former Employer’s Subpoena

Negro v. Superior Court, 2014 WL 5341926 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014) Navalimpianti USA, Inc. subpoenaed Google, Inc. to produce copies of email messages it had relating to one of Navalimpianti’s former employees, Matteo Negro. Prior to initiating this action against Google in state court in California, Navalimpianti sued Negro and other former employees in state … Continue Reading

Attorney Was Properly Denied Precertification Discovery To Find A New Class Representative

Pirjada v. Superior Court, 201 Cal. App. 4th 1074 (2011) Putative class representative Obaidul H. Pirjada filed a complaint on behalf of himself and a putative class of all security guards who had been employed in California by Pacific National Security, Inc. during the preceding four years. The complaint alleged a failure to provide meal-and-rest … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Recognizes Priests’ Privacy Interest In Their Personnel Files

In re Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland, 657 F.3d 1008 (2011) Documents that were produced in discovery and filed in the bankruptcy court contained allegations that Fathers “M” and “D” (two priests who were not parties to the Portland Archdiocese’s bankruptcy case) had sexually abused children. The bankruptcy court held that the discovery documents could … Continue Reading

Injunction Upheld Prohibiting Former Employee from Competing

NewLife Sciences, Inc. v. Weinstock, 197 Cal. App. 4th 676 (2011) NewLife terminated the employment of Ronald Weinstock, the purported inventor of a Therapeutic Magnetic Resonance Device (“TMRD”), which NewLife had purchased approximately one year before the termination. In connection with its purchase of the TMRD, NewLife had obtained a non-compete covenant, which prohibited Weinstock … Continue Reading

Employer Could Not Inquire Into Plaintiffs’ Immigration Status In Title VII Lawsuit

Rivera v. NIBCO, Inc., 364 F.3d 1057 (9th Cir. 2004) Twenty-three Latina and Southeast Asian female immigrants had been employed at NIBCO’s factory in Fresno and were terminated following their poor performance on a basic job skills examination that was given in English. The employees alleged discrimination under Title VII and the California Fair Employment … Continue Reading

Employer Was Entitled To Terminating Sanctions Against Former Employee

Computer Task Group, Inc. v. Brotby, 364 F.3d 1112 (9th Cir. 2004) Computer Task Group (CTG) sued William Brotby for breach of a non-solicitation/non-disclosure agreement that he signed while he was working as an information technologies consultant. CTG succeeded in obtaining an injunction prohibiting Brotby from working for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, one of CTG’s … Continue Reading

Documents Exchanged Between Parties To Joint- Defense Agreement Should Have Been Examined By Court

Oxy Resources Cal. LLC v. Superior Court, 115 Cal. App. 4th 874 (2004) Oxy Resources and EOG Resources entered into a complex transaction whereby they exchanged interests in a number of oil and gas producing properties. Oxy and EOG anticipated that Calpine Natural Gas LP might sue them as a result of the transaction and, … Continue Reading

Company Waived Attorney-Client Privilege By Providing Documents To The Government

McKesson HBOC, Inc. v. Superior Court, 115 Cal. App. 4th 1229 (2004) After McKesson publicly disclosed that its auditors had discovered improperly recorded revenues at a McKesson subsidiary, it became the subject of shareholder lawsuits and investigations by the United States Attorney’s Office and the SEC. McKesson retained an outside law firm to represent it … Continue Reading

Union Members’ Communications With Union Were Not Privileged

American Airlines, Inc. v. Superior Court, 114 Cal. App. 4th 881 (2003) During the course of his discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit against American Airlines, Jawad Alamad, a former aircraft mechanic, identified Richard DiMarco, another American employee and Vice President of Local 564 of the Transport Workers Union of America, as having knowledge supporting his … Continue Reading

Litigant And His Lawyer May Have Violated Computer Fraud Statutes By Subpoenaing E-Mail

Theofel v. Farey-Jones, 341 F.3d 978 (9th Cir. 2003) Douglas Wolf and Richard Buckingham, officers of Integrated Capital Associates, Inc. (ICA), were embroiled in commercial litigation against Alwyn Farey-Jones when Farey-Jones’s lawyer, Iryna Kwasny, subpoenaed ICA’s Internet Service Provider, NetGate, broadly seeking “all copies of emails sent or received by anyone.” NetGate, which was not … Continue Reading

Employees’ Lawyers Were Entitled To Communicate With Prospective Class Members

Parris v. Superior Court, 109 Cal. App. 4th 285 (2003) Cynthia Parris and Willie Lopez filed a class action lawsuit against Lowe’s H.I.W., Inc., alleging violations of California’s wage and hour laws regarding allegedly unpaid overtime compensation that was owed to employees who were compelled to work “off the clock.” Parris and Lopez then filed … Continue Reading

Terminating Sanctions And $1.6 Million Award Upheld Against Employer Following Discovery Abuses

Walker v. San Francisco Housing Authority, 100 Cal. App. 4th 685 (2002) Thelma Walker was employed as a “journeyman painter” for the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA). In her lawsuit against the SFHA and her foreman, Walker alleged that she had been subjected to severe and pervasive sexual harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy, and interference … Continue Reading
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