Having previously dismissed former L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva as a defendant in a civil rights/retaliation lawsuit filed by a department secretary who alleged the county’s ex-top law enforcement officer blocked her chance for promotion, a judge is now mulling the county’s request to similarly be dropped from the case.
In March, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Randolph M. Hammock dismissed Villanueva from the case after receiving an agreement from the parties that he should no longer be part of Cynthia Gallegos’ case. The ruling was “with prejudice,” meaning Villanueva cannot be reinstated as a defendant.
On Wednesday, Hammock heard arguments on the county’s bid for dismissal and took the case under submission. The judge also said that county lawyers may file by April 22 five additional pages of briefing to support their argument their motion should be granted.
Brought in June 2023, Gallegos’ revised complaint alleges only one cause of action for civil rights violations against the county. Gallegos’ original suit filed in October 2022 alleged a second civil rights claim that her attorneys subsequently dropped.
A sheriff’s department employee of more than 22 years, Gallegos in October 2021 was named acting senior secretary 5 in the department’s Technology and Support Division, where her supervisor was Eli Vera, who finished seventh in the June 2022 primary. Villanueva was defeated in his bid for a second term in the November 2022 general election against retired Long Beach Police Department Chief Robert Luna and is running again this November to try to get his former job back.
“For all intents and purposes, being placed in an acting position in this manner is tantamount to being promoted to that position permanently because that professional staff member has already been determined to be the most qualified person for the position when the approval to promote to the permanent position is given,” Gallegos’ lawyers state in their court papers.
However, in their court papers, county lawyers write that the evidence establishes that the county “had an adequate employment-based justification” for promoting a candidate other than plaintiff to the permanent senior secretary 5 job.
Vera contends that he was demoted from chief to commander by Villanueva in retaliation for making a run for sheriff. In her suit, Gallegos alleges she paid the price for backing Vera when she was wrongfully denied the permanent position despite having the highest score among applicants.
After allegedly blocking Gallegos’ promotion, Villanueva filled the position with a candidate who was a friend of the sheriff’s largest fundraiser, according to the suit.
“The person hired has caused chaos and discord in the office and refuses to learn the job,” according to the suit, which further states that the chosen candidate “had a reputation for similar antics and lack of competence in her other prior assignments.”