Law & Mediation Office of Denise A. Dickey

The fight over bathrooms and transgender students is on track to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals provided the following summary of this case: Gavin "Grimm first sued in 2015, alleging that, as applied to exclude him from the boys bathrooms, the Board’s policy violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and constituted discrimination on the basis of sex, in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20... U.S.C. 1681(a). Since then, Grimm amended his complaint to add that the Board’s refusal to amend his school records similarly violates both equal protection and Title IX. In 2019, after five winding years of litigation, the district court finally granted Grimm summary judgment on both claims. It awarded Grimm nominal damages, declaratory relief, attorney’s fees, and injunctive relief from the Board’s refusal to correct his school records. The Board timely appealed. Agreeing with the district court’s considered opinion, we affirm." The court noted in its "Conclusions" that: "Grimm’s four years of high school were shaped by his fight to use the restroom that matched his consistent and persistent gender identity. In the face of adults who misgendered him and called him names, he spoke with conviction at two Board meetings. The solution was apparent: allow Grimm to use the boys restrooms, as he had been doing without incident. But instead, the Board implemented a policy that treated Grimm as 'questioning' his identity and having 'issues,' and it sent him to special bathrooms that might as well have said 'Gavin' on the sign. It did so while increasing privacy in the boys bathrooms, after which its own deposition witness could not cite a remaining privacy concern. We are left without doubt that the Board acted to protect cisgender boys from Gavin’s mere presencea special kind of discrimination against a child that he will no doubt carry with him for life. "The Board did so despite advances in the medical community’s understanding of the nature of being transgender and the importance of gender affirmation. It did so after a major nationwide survey, the NTDS, put stark numbers to the harmful discrimination faced by transgender people in many aspects of their lives, including in school. "It also did so while schools across Virginia and across the country were successfully implementing trans-inclusive bathroom policies, again, without incident." The court further noted in it's ruling (in what can only be described as the Judge Floyd's personal commentary): "The proudest moments of the federal judiciary have been when we affirm the burgeoning values of our bright youth, rather than preserve the prejudices of the past. How shallow a promise of equal protection that would not protect Grimm from the fantastical fears and unfounded prejudices of his adult community."

The California Superior Court has held that Lyft and Uber drivers must be treated as "employees" under California law and are entitled to all the benefits that status entails. California Superior Court Judge Ethan P. Schulman said the companies had failed to comply with the state’s landmark Assembly Bill 5, which was signed into law last year and classified certain categories of gig workers as employees. Schulman ordered the companies to stop referring to drivers as independent contractors and comply with unemployment and wage floor provisions for the workers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held on Friday that former White House counsel Donald McGahn, who refused to appear before the House Judiciary Committee, must comply with the subpoena. The court found that by virtue of the House’s long-recognized subpoena power, the Committee was entitled to McGahn’s testimony pursuant to its duly issued subpoena, which he has never challenged, and the specific information the Committee would learn therefrom in... connection with carrying out its constitutional duties. The court reaffirmed what should have been obvious all along: ‘The power of each House of Congress to compel witnesses to appear before it to testify and to produce documentary evidence has a pedigree predating the Founding and has long been employed in Congress’s discharge of its primary constitutional responsibilities: legislating, conducting oversight of the federal government, and, when necessary, checking the President through the power of impeachment.’

We sent a letter to mortgage servicers reminding them of their obligations to California homeowners and tenants under the California Homeowner Bill of Rights. A...s we face an economic crisis, many families are falling behind on their mortgage payments. Servicers that violate the law may face legal action by the California Department of Justice. During times like these we rely on the law to provide a safeguard for families who are at risk of losing their homes. We take the rights of homeowners and tenants very seriously and expect all mortgage servicers to comply with the law. https://oag.ca.gov//attorney-general-becerra-reminds-mortg

Because of the pandemic, the State Bar has announced that it is lowering the curve and making the State Bar test an online multiple choice test (i.e.- eliminating the "subjective" essay portion of the test) to increase the passage rate-- Does that sound like a good thing to you? Would you want to be represented by an attorney that had to be "supervised" in practice by the State Bar?

The Ventura County Superior Court issued its Covid-19 Court Closure Update this afternoon. The court will remain on limited operations through May 12th. Additionally, all criminal and civil trials and non emergency hearings continue to be on 90 day suspended status pursuant to the court's March orders and will be rescheduled by the court. This order also applies to any mediations you might have had scheduled by the court for the courthouse (whether with me or another mediator).

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in mid-March that authorized local governments to halt evictions but came short of stopping evictions statewide. Over 80 cities and counties passed eviction moratoriums, including most Ventura County cities and Ventura County. After receiving some pushback for not enacting a statewide eviction ban, Newsom issued a second executive order on March 27, which puts a 60-day halt on residential evictions due to nonpayment of rent for coronavirus-related reasons. Under the order, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing that they need to delay some or all of their rent payment within seven days of the date the rent was due. Camarillo, Ojai, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley are among the cities that have enacted moratoriums on evictions.

Under the city’s anti-eviction rules, Angelenos simply have to notify their landlord within seven days that they’re unable to pay because of economic or health circumstances caused by the virus, and they have up to a year after the emergency declaration expires to pay past-due rent.

Under a measure approved Tuesday, tenants can inform their landlords in writing that they’re unable to pay because of economic or medical hardships related to the virus as long as it is within seven days after rent is due. That will be enough to prevent an eviction. "Additionally, renters in unincorporated areas now have one year to repay past-due rent. (. . .) The fact that courts around the state are currently closed and clerk's offices are not accepting eviction cases for filing will also provide some immediate relief to those being threatened with eviction. The moratorium announced by the County will need to be pled as an affirmative defense to any proceedings filed after the courts reopen.