Lawzilla Additional Information:
Per the court records we believe this tentative order became the final court ruling. Plaintiff is represented by attorney Jon Parsons.

16-CIV-03076 RODNEY RYCE VS. EAST PALO ALTO SANITARY DISTRICT, ET AL.

RODNEY RYCE EAST PALO ALTO SANITARY DISTRICT
JON R. PARSONS STEVEN D. WERTH

MOTION TO STRIKE PORTIONS OF THIRD AMENDED COMPLAINT BY EAST PALO ALTO SANITARY DISTRICT, GLENDA SAVAGE, BETSY YANEZ, JOAN SYKES-MIESSI AND KAREN MAXEY TENTATIVE RULING:

Defendants East Palo Alto Sanitary District, et. al.’s Motion to Strike portions of Plaintiff Rodney Ryce’s Third Amended Complaint (TAC), filed 06-13-18, is GRANTED as set forth below.

As to the Eighth Cause of Action for “Conspiracy to Deny Due Process Rights,” the motion is GRANTED.

First, this new cause of action exceeds the scope of the Court’s 0530-18 Order granting leave to amend the Eighth Cause of Action in Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint, which was entitled “Judicial Declaration Concerning Employment of General Manager Maxey”. The prior claim, which was asserted only against the District and Defendant Karen Maxey, challenged the validity of Maxey’s Employment Agreement with the District. Specifically, it sought a judicial declaration that the Agreement is void for alleged violations of state laws/regulations. It also sought a judicial declaration that Maxey had obtained money from the District through fraud and must repay to the District money paid to her under the Employment Agreement. On 0530-18, the Court ruled that Plaintiff lacked standing to challenge the validity/enforceability of an employment agreement to which he was not a party. The Court granted Plaintiff leave to amend to alleged facts, if he could, to establish standing to seek such judicial declarations.

In contrast, the new Eighth Cause of Action asserts a civil conspiracy claim against individual Defendants Savage, Sykes-Miessi, Yanez and Maxey, alleging they conspired to eliminate Plaintiff’s position with the District (through the reorganization), which caused him financial and emotional damage. This is a very different cause of action than the prior claim. The defendants are also different. The District is no longer a named defendant and it adds three individual defendants who previously were not parties to this claim. Accordingly, the amendment exceeds the scope of the Order granting leave to amend. Patrick v. Alacer Corp. (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 995, 1015; The Rutter Group: Civ. Proc. Before Trial, §7:148.1a (“When a demurrer is sustained with leave to amend, the leave must be construed as permission to the pleader to amend the causes of action to which the demurrer has been sustained, not add entirely new causes of action.”).

Further, even if the Court had authorized an amendment adding new causes of action, as currently alleged, the amended Eighth Cause of Action does not properly state a conspiracy claim. Berg & Berg Enterprises, LLC v. Sherwood Partners, Inc. (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 802, 823; The Rutter Group: Civ. Proc. Before Trial, §6:154 (Conspiracy is not a separate cause of action; it is a mechanism for imposing vicarious liability on defendants who did not commit the tort themselves, but may be jointly liable with the immediate tortfeasors when they share with the immediate tortfeasors a common plan or design in its perpetration). Here, the Eighth Cause of Action alleges various forms of wrongdoing by Defendants Savage, Sykes-Miessi, Yanez and Maxey. Specific to Plaintiff’s alleged harm, this claim alleges Defendants conspired to eliminate his position in violation of his due process rights. Even if this allegation were true, it does not appear to constitute any actionable tort by any of the named defendants, or even a violation of a statute, and thus cannot serve as the basis for a conspiracy claim.

As to the Ninth Cause of Action for an accounting, the motion is GRANTED. Plaintiff has not opposed the motion as to this claim. Further, as discussed in the defendants’ related Demurrer to the TAC, the Demurrer to this cause of action is being sustained without leave to amend.