Meredith Karasch

Litigation

• Reed, et al. v. State of California (2011) - The parties negotiated a settlement, allowing LAUSD to skip all teachers at 45 "Targeted Schools," chosen based on low performance, high teacher turnover, and the growth in test scores over time, indicating reform efforts.  UTLA (who LAUSD brought in as a defendant) opposed the settlement because it violated seniority rights.  The judge determined the settlement was fair and legal.
• Liburd v. Los Angeles Unified School District (2011) - Successfully moved for judgment on the pleadings in favor of the District and individual defendants in a case involving various claims incluiding failure to train and supervise, excessive force, and retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
• Mack and Gossett v. City of Hawthorne (2011) - Plaintiffs were housing department employees who were investigated by the City for taking bribes in return for moving them up on the waiting list low income housing.  The District Attorney filed charges and then dropped the charges before there was a criminal trial.  Plaintiffs sued for retaliation, race, gender, and disability discrimination, harassment, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  After Plaintiffs presented their evidence to a jury, the judge dismissed the case and entered judgment in favor of the City.
• Wells v. Los Angeles Unified School District (2010) -

  This case involved five Plaintiffs who were employees with three different schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District and sued the District for various FEHA violations.  The court severed the cases finding they were not related.  Plaintiff Wells was a teacher under investigation for sending photographs and  text messages involving an Assistant Principal.  Plaintiff refused to participate in the harassment investigation.  Due to his actions, LAUSD transferred him off campus.  Plaintiff refused to report to the new school.  He sued claiming sexual and racial harassment, retaliation, as well as failure to prevent sexual harassment, racial harassment, and retaliation.  The Court entered summary judgment in favor of LAUSD.

• Professional Peace Officers of Los Angeles v. County of Los Angeles (2010) - Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Code, supervisors must earn at least one dollar more per hour than their subordinates under certain criteria.  At the direction of the County's Chief Executive Office, the Sheriff's' Department issued specific eligibility guidelines that clarified existing practice and criteria contained in the County Code and County Interpretive Manual.  PPOA filed suit for back pay, injunctive and declaratory relief alleging that the guidelines included additional criteria than was required to earn the bonus pay and were an unreasonable interpretation of the County Code.  The court found that the guidelines were a reasonable interpretation of and were consistent with the County Code.  Judge Brazile denied relief on all causes of action and entered costs in favor of the County.
• Alice Johnson v. LAUSD (2009) - Summary judgment in favor of LAUSD and against a special education teacher's assistant alleging discrimination based on race, and failure to prevent discrimination under FEHA. Plaintiff claimed she was demoted and improperly and repeatedly disciplined due to her race. However, this plaintiff had a lengthy disciplinary history starting from 2000 and was repeatedly written up and disciplined for failing to adequately supervise her assigned student (who suffered from seizures), reporting late to her post after breaks, falsifying her time records, and insubordination, among various other performance issues.