# 0307826, Deanna Brummett v. Dept of Calif. Highway Patrol, filed 11/20/07

Defendant’s Attorney: Claudia Ramirez

Verdict: Defense                                     Dept. 42: Hon. Henry J. Walsh

Plaintiff worked for 14 years for Defendant CHP and sought advancement from sergeant to lieutenant.  Efforts at promotion undertaken at the urging of her superiors included attendance at certain social events, where it was first disclosed that Plaintiff was a lesbian in a domestic marital relationship. Thereafter, Plaintiff alleged Defendant waged a campaign of discrimination, retaliation and harassment including punitive work assignments, disparate disciplinary actions, verbal and demonstrative harassment, negative performance evaluations, suspension, removal of duties, punitive reassignments, inequitable workloads, false accusations resulting in unfounded investigations, and unlawful search and seizure of personal belongings. Plaintiff sought and obtained transfers to other stations which did not resolve Defendant’s alleged conduct. Plaintiff claimed that prior to becoming open about her sexual orientation her rating was excellent with no negative comments. Defendant maintained that any adverse action taken against Plaintiff was warranted based on multiple occasions of misconduct over a period of months including not being in uniform and ready to start shift as required, possessing documents without proper authority, improperly accessing law the enforcement database, and that any hostility from her supervisors by way of corrective management decisions was never severe or pervasive. Jury found adverse actions were taken by Defendant but were not the result of sexual orientation, gender, or marital status, and not in retaliation for Plaintiff’s complaints. Jury also found Plaintiff was not subjected to any harassing conduct because of her sexual orientation, gender or marital status.

For more information about this Verdict, feel free to use the “Contact” link.