San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has been busy handing out CALA (Californians Against Law Suit Abuse) awards; maybe that's why he didn't have time to pay attention to waste of taxpayer money by the City of San Diego. It's okay with Jerry for insiders to milk the taxpayers, but he and his CALA friends don't want the city to reimburse ordinary people who have been harmed by city wrongdoing.

The following story from Voice of San Diego addresses the question of Mayor Sanders' lack of interest:

How City Hall Ignored Warning Signs on SEDC
By ANDREW DONOHUE and WILL CARLESS
Aug. 21, 2008

After a voiceofsandiego.org investigation revealed last month that officials at the Southeastern Economic Development Corp. had paid themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in hidden, non-budgeted bonuses and extra compensation, the Mayor's Office was quick to act.

Jumping ahead of the potential public relations nightmare, the mayor issued stern rebukes of SEDC compensation practices, cut the redevelopment agency's funding and called for its president's resignation.

When Mayor Jerry Sanders was told about expired board terms at SEDC, he said his office had higher priorities to deal with before addressing the issue.

Other city officials have been quick to jump on the bandwagon. Three members of the City Council joined the mayor's call for Smith to resign and City Attorney Mike Aguirre quickly stepped in with his own bombshell: An opinion that SEDC's board chairman had violated California's conflict of interest laws.

The rapid response displayed this summer belies the lack of pace and seriousness with which officials in City Hall, from the mayor and city attorney to the auditor and independent budget analyst, dealt with bubbling questions surrounding SEDC pay and other practices over the past two years...

Diane Crosier and Rodger Hartnett: No one but us should be allowed to sue


Diane Crosier, executive director of SDCOE-JPA

After years of successful opposition to the claims of those who have been injured by unlawful actions of teachers and school officials, Diane Crosier and Rodger Hartnett, bigshots in the San Diego County Office of Education-Joint Powers Authority, suddenly think that the courts should switch sides, and listen to the complaints of victims.

No, not all victims. Just Diane and Rodger.

What was that you were saying about lawsuit abuse, Diane? You fall off a horse and want someone else to pay, right? Yes, I know it hurts. I've fallen off a horse, and I've broken my back. But I never sued anybody over it.

In what way are you different from all the people whose claims you turned down, Rodger? They don't deserve accomodations for disabilities, but you do? How do you figure that? I do salute you, however, for the public service you have done by exposing a small part of the wrongdoing at SDCOE-JPA.

Why don't the two of you admit the truth: those who are illegally harmed deserve the protection of the law?

And those who have done the harm, such as the two of you, should pay.

Gawker.com wants us to appreciate Sam Zell's patriotism:

Stop Defaming Sam Zell's Trailer Park Company!
2:49 PM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By Pareene

Sam Zell, the crazy old man who bought some newspapers recently, is a champion of free speech, which is why he swears so much. So it's odd that he is suing some lady for defamation, right? Especially because the lady is not associated with us, and we have called him all sorts of things! Oh, the lady is Dianne Jacob, who represents the Second District on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. Sam Zell also owns a trailer park company that has four parks in her district. Recently, they started raising rents. Dianne Jacob said some very mildly defamatory things about them!

Ms. Jacob learned that Zell's Manufacured Home Communities (which is now called "Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc.") has a history of suing cities to make them repeal rent control laws and also they enjoy "running people out of older mobile home parks," just for the kicks. So she said as much, and then they sued her for defamation, and they lost, but now they're appealing, even though their case seems pretty thin.

So now she's writing an editorial about it. She submitted it to the Zell-owned L.A. Times, but they rejected it for some reason!

All we have to say is listen up, old people—you can whine about that 25% rent hike but you're subsidizing quality journalism. If you want to save the newspaper industry and keep that DC bureau open, you're gonna have to suck it up. It's the patriotic thing to do.

I Won't Be Sued Into Silence [Voice of San Diego]

http://gawker.com/381068/stop-defaming-sam-zells-trailer-park-company

Insurance company lawyers should have settled instead of continuing harrassment

Goodrich Employee Wins Harassment Lawsuit.
Chula Vista, Calif.
February, 2003
By Michael Kinsman,
The San Diego Union-Tribune Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 8--Goodrich Aerostructures in Chula Vista just took a half-million-dollar hit just because it didn't listen to one of its employees.

The aerospace manufacturer recently was on the losing end of a lawsuit filed by maintenance technician Bob Haist, who said he was slandered by his manager.

A San Diego Superior Court jury awarded Haist $165,000 for the slander and another $335,000 for malice.

UPDATE: Click
HERE for the Danielle Coziahr v. CVESD $1 million jury award for gender discrimination at Silverwing school in Chula Vista Elementary School District.

UPDATE: Click
HERE for the Danielle Coziahr v. CVESD $1 million jury award for gender discrimination.


Lawsuit abuse by Dan Shinoff, Leslie Devaney, and Diane Crosier may have reached an all-time high in 2007. Leslie Devaney felt right at home in Cheryl Cox territory (Chula Vista), where she got the taxpayers to pay a big settlement to get rid of Laurie Madigan, the wife of a developer who was suspected of steering work to her husband's friends. You may remember Madigan as the woman who took sick leave BECAUSE SHE WAS AFRAID SHE MIGHT GET SICK BECAUSE SHE WAS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. While collecting full sick pay, she continued with her evening teaching job.

Then there's Dan Shinoff, who helped make a mess of MiraCosta College at the same time he helped Victoria Munoz gain a life of leisure and luxury at the taxpayers' expense.

Here's what San Diego Union Tribune columnist Logan Jenkins says about the deal MiraCosta made with Victoria Munoz Richart to get her to resign as president. She'd long been working closely with Dan Shinoff to wreak havoc with the district's finances and human resources.

Logan Jenkins admires Victoria Richart's fabulous settlement with MiraCosta

Not everyone can waste two million dollars of precious education funds, and then be rewarded with another million in taxpayer funds. Victoria Munoz Richart of MiraCosta College, under the guidance of education attorney Dan Shinoff, did just that.

Yesterday, Logan Jenkins of the San Diego Union Tribune wrote:


"I don't know what element of the settlement to admire more.

"The $650,000 in “damages”? (You help blow up the place and then collect for your theoretical injury at the hands of dissident board members who may have illegally dissed your leadership. Fabulous!)

"Indemnification in all future lawsuits? (You walk away clean, no harm, no foul – forever!)

"The confidentiality clause? (All lips are sealed. No snitching!)

"Though not highlighted in the press, one clause of the settlement struck us as especially brilliant.

"If the college fails to pony up the dough by next Saturday, you'll “remain as Superintendent/President until those payments are made.”

"Talk about striking the fear of God into your marks. Pay me or I'll . . . stay!

"Madam president, you must be very tired, but deliriously happy."

Diane Crosier, director of the San Diego County Office of Education--Joint Powers Authority continues to steer the school districts of San Diego county to Shinoff and Devaney's firm, Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz. Superintendent Randy Ward refuses to cough up public records of how much money Diane Crosier channels to Stutz. In fact, SDCOE tries to put very little information in writing about its relationship with Stutz. As Terry Ryan revealed at a Grossmont Union High School District board meeting several months ago, Crosier has a "gentlemen's agreement" with Stutz. Isn't that nice for them? But not so nice for the public which pays the secret bills.

School lawyers commit lawsuit abuse at a rate far exceeding that of school victims.

Good for Leonel Sanchez for noting the problem of bullying in schools in his recent San Diego Union Tribune article about violence in schools.

Schools won't address this problem because they fear they'd be admitting liability. School boards and superintendents figure they can always get their lawyers to intimidate or bankrupt the victims who sue, or get them to settle for tiny amounts due to the threat of endless litigation.

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that judges in California think they are helping schools by protecting the adults who do a bad job of running schools? Aren't the children the heart of the school? Aren't they the ones the courts should consider first?