Southern California 714-573-0900

Litigation

Parker & Covert LLP has extensive experience in litigation involving public entities. Our litigation is before all levels of the California state and federal courts, as well as before numerous administrative agencies, such as the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region IX; the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission; the California Public Employment Relations Board; and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Areas of Litigation

Substantive areas of litigation practice we are actively engaged in include:

  • Public construction contracts and defects,
  • Public employee discipline and dismissal,
  • Employee and retiree health benefits,
  • Public contracts,
  • School facilities mitigation and developer fees,
  • Defense of special education appeals in federal court, and
  • Defense of discrimination and civil rights actions brought by employees and students.
  • Defense of personal injury actions brought by employees and students
  • California Tort Claims Act

With respect to employment litigation, our attorneys have represented school districts and community colleges in connection with all manner of administrative hearings, arbitrations, and litigation, including cases before the California Supreme Court and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

We are also very experienced with the California Tort Claims Act, and its requirements for filing timely liability claims. When there are issues regarding the appropriateness or timeliness of a claim, we will review and provide appropriate responses for noncompliance. These are important issues which can result in protecting the District from liability based upon the protections provided in the Tort Claims Act.

Our attorneys have presented school districts and community colleges in legal proceedings on construction projects ranging from bid protests, stop notice claims and substitution of subcontractors, up to and including claims and litigation with general contractors, contractor termination for convenience or for cause, and surety bond issues. We also represent districts in claims and litigation with architects and design professionals over design defects and errors and omissions and have obtained successful settlements on behalf of our clients, including a settlement wherein the general contractor and bonding company paid in excess of $1.2 million to the school district.

Representative Matters

Appellate Decisions

Long Beach Council of Classified Employees, Local 6108 AFT/CFT v. Long Beach Community College District
(2018) California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District affirmed in full superior court decision denying union challenge to reemployment claims for classified employees in merit system district.

Kagan v. Victor Valley Community College District
(2018) Appellate Court affirmed dismissal of taxpayer lawsuit (also member of citizen's bond oversight committee) complaining District was not properly spending bond proceeds.

California School Employees Assn. v. Torrance Unified School District
(2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 1040
Classified employees who did not work on staff development student free days were not entitled to regular wages for those days.

Park v. Anaheim Union High School District
(9th Cir. 2006) 464 F.3d 1025
District court and hearing officer's denial of all requested services for special education student affirmed on appeal.

Sappington v. Orange Unified School District
(2004) 119 Cal.App.4th 949, 14 Cal.Rptr.3d 764
Judgment that school district could reduce health insurance coverage for management retirees affirmed on appeal.

Amanda Ford v. Long Beach Unified School District
(9th Cir. 2002) 291 F.3d 1086
Adequacy of assessment of special education student that did not include traditional IQ test affirmed on appeal.

Mary Thorpe v. Long Beach Community College District
(2000) 83 Cal.App.4th 655, 99 Cal.Rptr.2d 897
Employee's ineligibility for supervisor position affirmed on appeal.

Fullerton Joint Union High School District v. State Board of Education
(1982) 32 Cal.3d 779, 187 Cal.Rptr. 398
California Supreme Court reversed school district unification plan on various grounds.

Trial Court Decisions

Pellenbarg v. Desert Community College District (2020). Obtained dismissal of litigation filed by former adjunct instructor alleging discrimination and failure to assign classes for nuisance value following a successful demurrer and limited discovery.

Somin v. Porter (2018). Successfully obtained a three-year civil harassment restraining order in favor of community college instructor against a former student who threatened to kill her in a series of messages sent on the social media site Facebook. The decision was unanimously upheld by the Court of Appeal.

G.J. v. Torrance Unified School District (2016). Litigation pertaining to alleged injuries sustained in a trip-and-fall incident at a middle school. Settled on the first day of trial.

Administrative Hearings

In re DC (2020). Permanent Certificated Dismissal. School district filed charges seeking to dismiss long-time classroom teacher following erratic and threatening behavior toward colleagues. The teacher resigned following receipt of the written charges for a nominal settlement amount.

In re DB (2019). Student Expulsion Appeal. Successfully defended a school district's expulsion of a student for terroristic threats before the Los Angeles County Board of Education, despite a LACOE staff recommendation that the expulsion be overturned.

In re TM (2017). Tenured Faculty Dismissal. Community College District sought to dismiss a long-time tenured faculty member due to dishonesty and mismanagement resulting in more than $40,000 of fraudulent requisitions. The faculty member agreed to resign before a seven-day hearing commenced.

 

Full Service. Statewide.

Parker and Covert LLP, through its Northern and Southern California offices, provides comprehensive legal representation to school districts, community colleges, and other educational clients in communities throughout the state of California.

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