We obtained a writ of mandate by the appellate court, reversing the trial court’s decision which denied our clients’ motion for summary judgment.  This matter arose out of plaintiff-a school teacher’s allegations that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was subjected to adverse employment actions by four defendant-administrators.  We filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the defendants’ conduct did not arise to adverse employment actions.  We also argued that the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity.  The trial court granted the motion as to only one of the defendants.  Consequently, we filed a Writ of Mandate with the appellate court.  The appellate court agreed with our arguments and issued a preemptory writ directing the trial court to vacate its order denying the motion for summary judgment, and to enter a new order granting the motion.     

The plaintiff brought an action in federal court arising out of his termination from employment with a public entity. The plaintiff alleged claims for, inter alia, Title VII discrimination, breach of contract, hostile work environment, and defamation. On behalf of our public entity client, we filed a motion to dismiss the action on numerous procedural and substantive grounds, which was granted by the court despite plaintiff’s fierce opposition.  While the plaintiff was granted leave to amend initially, our motion to dismiss the first amended complaint was granted without leave to amend, resulting in a dismissal of the entire action against our client. In addition, while the plaintiff filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, his appeal was dismissed.

In this case, plaintiff filed suit in both state and federal courts alleging that the defendants unfairly discharged him in retaliation and in violation of state and federal laws. In the federal action, we successfully argued that plaintiff had no evidence to establish pretext. In the state action, we successfully argued that the judgment in the federal court barred his action in the state court under principles of res judicata and collateral estoppel.