A big win for Leslie Devaney and Ray Artiano at Tri-City Hospital

Apparently when Leslie Devaney showed up at a Tri-City board meeting shortly after she and Ray Artiano were hired to represent fired executives, she managed to cause the board members to worry about possible Brown Act violations that, she said, could send them to jail.

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HOSPITAL: Tri-City settles Brown Act lawsuit filed by former executives
Hospital agrees to pay $300,000, but admits no violation
By PAUL SISSON
February 25, 2010

Tri-City Medical Center has settled a lawsuit brought by a group of former hospital executives who alleged Tri-City violated the state's open meeting law, called the Brown Act, when four hospital board members put the executives on paid leave during a hastily called closed-door meeting in December 2008.

Ray Artiano, an attorney for the seven executives, said Thursday afternoon that Tri-City settled the case for $300,000, which will cover attorney's fees. The executives ---- who were later fired by Tri-City ---- have also filed a wrongful termination lawsuit that is still working its way through the courts.

Courtney Berlin, a spokesperson for Tri-City, confirmed the settlement in the Brown Act lawsuit this week. She said in an e-mail that it doesn't admit "any error on the part of our Board or any violation of the Brown Act."

"In order to preserve the company's resources, we felt it was appropriate to settle the matter," Berlin said.

Four of seven Tri-City board members voted during a special meeting on Dec. 8, 2008, to sideline the seven executives and call in an accounting firm to conduct a forensic investigation of the public hospital's books. Tri-City's former chief executive Arthur Gonzalez was put on leave during the same meeting.

In February 2009, the seven sued Tri-City's board, alleging it had violated several aspects of public meetings law.

The suit asked a Superior Court judge to declare the decision invalid, but more than one year later there had been no ruling in the case. Artiano said that when the suit was filed, there was some hope among the executives that a decision would come quickly and could result in them being reinstated.

In the intervening months, Gonzalez settled with the hospital district and found a new job running a large hospital system in Minneapolis.

In the wrongful termination lawsuits, the remaining executives are seeking more than $1 million each. Lawyers on both sides are now arguing whether the case belongs in federal or state court.

Artiano's clients include Doreen Sanderson, Tri-City's former vice president of human resources; Allen Coleman, former vice president of strategic services; Robert Wardwell, former chief financial officer; Daniel Groszkruger, former director of information systems; Ondrea Labella, former director of patient business services; Suellyn Ellerbe, former chief operating officer and chief nurse executive; and Terry Howell, former vice president of performance improvement.

Their salaries ranged from $194,000 to $325,000 per year.

While Artiano acknowledged that Tri-City has admitted no culpability with regard to open meetings law violations, he said the fact that the hospital settled means something.

"We thought the amount was sufficient to make a point, and now we will focus on the wrongful termination cases," Artiano said.

Leslie Devaney and school lawyers Dan Shinoff and Ray Artiano want to put a schoolteacher in jail for mentioning them on her website

I got an email this morning from Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz telling me that they have scheduled an ex parte hearing for Thursday. They are asking the judge for appropriate sanctions "including jail time" to punish me for mentioning them on my website. It's true that Judge Judith Hayes is extremely fond of the folks at Stutz law firm, but--jail?

To Leslie Devaney, Dan Shinoff, Ray Artiano and Jim Holtz:

We must always be careful about what we wish for. What if the judge were to do as you suggest, and put me in jail? Surely the media would cover the case of the school teacher that went to jail at the request of school lawyers for the transgression of mentioning their name on her website.

Sincerely,
Maura Larkins

P.S. Do you not know that we have a budget crisis in California? How much money do you want the taxpayers to spend to help you silence me? Aren't they already paying enough to your law firm?

San Diego City College District and attorney Ray Artiano lose their appeal in Mesa College case

This is an interesting case, establishing that you can NOT give up your right to due process as established by the Education Code.

It looks like Ray Artiano of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz is an education attorney now. Welcome to the world of education, Ray.

Filed 7/28/09
COURT OF APPEAL, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SAM H. FARAHANI v. SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT et al

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Joan M. Lewis, Judge. Affirmed.

Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, Ray J. Artiano and Richard E. Romero for Defendants and Appellants.

Grady and Associates, Dennis M. Grady, Kenneth W. Baisch, and Bradley K. Moores for Plaintiff and Respondent.

... The trial court granted Farahani’s petition for writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1085), ruling that the Agreement violated the Education Code and Farahani’s due process rights. The court issued a peremptory writ of mandate under Code of Civil Procedure section 1085...

Farahani was a tenured professor of international relations and public policy at Mesa College. He had worked for the District for 18 years prior to his termination in June 2006.

Beginning in 1994, the District received complaints from female students and staff about what they described as unwanted sexual and social advances. In October 2000, after investigating some of these complaints, the District gave Farahani a written reprimand advising him that continued misconduct would result in discipline up to and including termination...