Category: News

The United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies in a federal civil rights lawsuit.  Plaintiff alleged that the deputies’ use of a police canine and less-lethal 40-millimeter launcher to arrest him were excessive and violated his civil rights.  The District Court found that the deputies’ use of force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances and that the deputies were entitled to qualified immunity.  The County and its individual deputies were represented by Jill Williams and Christopher Hanson.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an order granting summary judgement in favor of three Santa Ana Police Department officers in a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit.  The case arose out of the SAPD’s pursuit of a hit-and-run suspect.  When the suspect refused to exit his vehicle, a police canine and less-lethal rounds from a 40mm launcher were used to extract him.  After he was arrested, the suspect was taken to the hospital to be treated and cleared for booking, and he later died.  Plaintiffs alleged that the officers’ use of force was excessive and caused the suspect’s death.  The District Court found that the use of force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances and that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.  The individual officers were represented by Jill Williams and Anna Petrosyan .

The United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an order granting a third consecutive motion to dismiss in favor of the City of South Gate city council members, mayor, and police chief, this time dismissing the case in its entirety with prejudice.  The civil action arose out of a police pursuit, where the plaintiff fled in a vehicle and on foot before barricading himself in impound yard.  Due to multiple failures to comply with police commands to voluntarily exit, officers deployed a police canine to safely apprehend the plaintiff.  Plaintiff brought multiple federal and state law claims against the City defendants predicated on allegations that the use of the police canine constituted excessive force.  After previously affording Plaintiff leave to amend twice, the District Court dismissed the case with prejudice, finding that Plaintiff either could not or would not successfully amend the complaint to salvage the lawsuit.  The Defendants were represented by Steven Rothans and Kimberly Sarmiento.

In 2019 a three-year-old ECE Head Start student fell from a school jungle gym and fractured his elbow. Plaintiff sued Defendant claiming that the ECE staff was negligent in failing to provide adequate and appropriate supervision thereby allowing the accident to happen. Plaintiff asked the jury for $770,000 in damages. After a 5 day trial, the jury returned with a unanimous defense verdict. The Palmdale School District was represented by Louis Dumont and Yelena Bakman.

CRD just had a recent victory in a case involving a writ petition seeking to overturn the decision of an administrative hearing officer.  The writ was dismissed by the trial court after the petitioner failed to timely file an opening brief and the court denied relief under CCP 473.  The Court of Appeal affirmed, finding that the attorney’s knowing decision to not file an opening brief because he thought the case would settle was not an excusable mistake or neglect.  The County of Los Angeles, Department of Animal Care and Control, was represented by Jill Williams and Kimberly Morosi.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of the County of Los Angeles in federal civil rights / wrongful death lawsuit entitled Garry Agosto v. County of Los Angeles.  This civil action arose out of the death of a two-year-old girl after her mother accidentally left her in a heated vehicle overnight.  The child’s father brought claims for negligence and under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 against the County based on allegations that the Department of Children and Family Services (“DCFS”) social workers conducted a deficient investigation when determining that the child was not at risk of abuse and/or neglect.

The federal district court found that the incontrovertible evidence showed the DCFS social workers did not breach a duty of care when investigating the referral made to the department.  The district court dismissed the case with prejudice and entered judgment in favor of the County.  The County of Los Angeles was represented by Jill Williams and Kimberly Morosi.

CRD achieved summary judgment on behalf of Vaughn Next Century Learning Center (a public charter school within the Los Angeles Unified School District) in an action brought by a female student alleging she was bullied as well as sexually and racially harassed by a male peer when they were in elementary school.  The plaintiff also alleged that the school discriminated against her based on her race (African American) in failing to discipline the alleged perpetrator and subjecting plaintiff to “strip searches” by law enforcement on campus.  The plaintiff asserted causes of action against the school for negligent supervision, assault and battery, and violation of state civil rights.  The court found no evidence that Vaughn discriminated against plaintiff or that the school was indifferent to any misconduct by other students.  The court also ruled that Vaughn reasonably supervised its students and responded to known complaints appropriately. The school district was represented by Scott Carpenter.

After a nine-day jury trial, Jill Williams secured a unanimous defense verdict for the City of Hawthorne in a whistleblower retaliation and discrimination action brought by Plaintiff, Remedios Perez.  Perez was a 19-year City employee who alleged she was wrongfully terminated by the City in retaliation for reporting what she believed to be embezzled City funds.  Perez also alleged she was terminated because of her age, race, and/or gender. She sought over $3.5 million in damages for lost earnings, lost retirement benefits, and emotional distress.  The City of Hawthorne denied wrongdoing and asserted that it had legitimate, non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory business reasons (i.e., reducing a budget deficit) to eliminate Perez’s position.

CRD achieved summary judgment on behalf of Garvey High School District in an action brought by a student who collided with another student in Physical Education class.  Plaintiff alleged that the teachers negligently supervised the students and that the instructions about the rules of the game and playing safely encouraged students to push each other.  The Court held that although the school had a duty to prevent the collision, the teachers’ supervision and instructions did not cause the students’ collision. The high school district was represented by Yaron Dunkel.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of Los Angeles County and two DCFS social workers in a federal civil rights action entitledDaisy Reyna v. County of Los Angeles.  The case arose out of an incident wherein the social workers took temporary custody of two young children after both of their parents were arrested and multiple firearms were found in their home.  The children’s mother brought the action alleging that the social workers violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment by seizing the children without a warrant.  The federal district court found that the warrantless removal of the children was constitutional under the circumstances and, even if the social workers had violated the constitution, they would be entitled to qualified immunity.  Therefore, the district court dismissed the case with prejudice and entered judgment in favor of the County and the social workers.  The County of Los Angeles was represented by Jill Williams.