Kelsey F. Ridenhour

Battalion Chief v. County Fire Department (2024) – Convinced the California Court of Appeal to uphold the dismissal of a battalion chief’s FEHA claim that he was discriminated against due to his failure to be promoted.  LCW had also secured the underlying victory in the superior court based on a successful motion for summary judgment.

Employee v. County (2024) – Convinced the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to dismiss a court reporter’s claims for violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution based on union dues deductions from her pay.   The court reporter claimed that the county continued to collect union dues from her paycheck after she had terminated her union membership and rescinded her dues authorization.  The Court found the county had:  no duty to verify the validity of the dues authorization; and no notice that the reporter had contested the authorization.

Craine v. AFSCME – Defeated a former union member’s appeal in the Ninth Circuit.  The employee’s lawsuit alleged that taking union dues deductions after he withdrew from the union violated his right to decide whether to fund political speech.  Once the union received the lawsuit, it refunded the employee’s dues deductions, with interest.  LCW moved to dismiss for mootness and he trial court dismissed the case without leave to amend.  LCW obtained a dismissal in the Ninth Circuit.

Battalion Chief v. Fire Department (2024) – LCW won summary judgment for an employer in a case in which a battalion chief alleged age, disability, and ethnicity discrimination under FEHA after being passed over for promotion. The California Court of Appeal affirmed the ruling, finding no evidence of discriminatory animus.