Attorneys for the city of Los Angeles say they need more time to prepare for trial of a lawsuit brought by a former fire department administrator who alleges she was fired by then-LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley after speaking out against alleged financial misconduct and a department backlash.
Lawyers for the city filed court papers Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Colin Leis asking that the current scheduled Dec. 7 date to start trial of plaintiff Jenny Park’s case be set back for a least another 120 days. Discovery delays have beset the city’s case and Park’s deposition is not scheduled until Sept. 15, the city’ attorneys further write.
Crowley’s deposition is set for Aug. 26 and that of Orin Saunders for Sept. 11. Saunders is a chief deputy and commands the Los Angeles Fire Department’s administrative operations bureau.
“Plaintiff’s deposition will establish her factual contentions, the scope and nature of the damages she claims, and the identity of the witnesses and documents on which she intends to rely at trial,” the city’s attorneys state. “It is also the ordinary predicate for the follow-on written discovery, third-party subpoenas and expert work that the city will need to complete before trial.”
The city cannot properly prepare the case for trial without Park’s testimony and without the documents needed from the plaintiff, the city’s lawyers further contend in their court papers. A hearing on the city’s motion is scheduled Monday.
In her lawsuit filed in December 2024, Park alleges that nine months earlier Crowley and Saunders, “fearful of being exposed … terminated Ms. Park, an exemplary employee with the LAFD and its highest-ranking Asian and female civilian, for speaking out against numerous violations.”
Crowley, the first woman to lead the LAFD, “mistakenly believed her historic appointment gave her license to engage in unlawful retaliatory conduct against another woman,” the suit further states. “She was wrong.”
Park expressed her concerns and complained about numerous decisions and actions by Crowley and Saunders, including Crowley’s alleged failure to repay the city for a significant overpayment she received in error, the suit states.
After Park’s complaints, Crowley and Saunders began retaliating against Park by, among other things, removing supervisory functions of risk management, employee relations and human resources from Park’s work, excluding the plaintiff from staff meetings and interview panels, directing Park’s colleagues to not engage with her and by trying to embarrass Park in front of others, according to the suit.
Crowley was removed as chief in February 2025 by Mayor Karen Bass over the chief’s handling of the Palisades Fire. Crowley, who still works within the LAFD, is suing both the city and Bass.