Teachers v. Chino Valley Unified Sch. Dist.

30 Cal.App.5th 530

241 Cal.Rptr.3d 732

ASSOCIATED CHINO TEACHERS, Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.CHINO VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant and Respondent.

E068163

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 2, California.

Filed November 29, 2018

Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers, Michael R. Feinberg and Amy Moolin Cu, Los Angeles, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, Anthony P. De Marco and Jacquelyn Takeda Morenz, Irvine, for Defendant and Respondent.

PUBLIC—REDACTED VERSION OF OPINION

Redacts material from sealed record.^* (Cal. Rules of Court, rules 8.45, 8.46(f)(1) and (f)(2).)

McKINSTER, Acting P. J.

On December 21, 2016, plaintiff and appellant Associated Chino Teachers (ACT) filed a verified petition for writ of mandate, seeking to prevent defendant and respondent Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) from releasing two documents relating to the results of an investigation into a public high school teacher’s (Doe) actions as a girls’ volleyball coach. Doe’s actions did not result in any type of discipline or adverse action from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). The trial court denied the petition. ACT appeals contending the disclosure of these documents is not authorized under the California Public Records Act. (CPRA; Gov. Code, § 6250, et seq. )¹ It argues that disclosure would significantly harm Doe’s privacy rights. (§ 6254, subd. (c).) Alternatively, ACT asserts the public interest in not disclosing the documents outweighs the public interest in disclosing them. (§ 6255.)

We conclude the CPRA does not require the production of the documents because Doe’s privacy interests outweigh the public interest in their disclosure. We therefore do not address ACT’s alternative argument. We reverse the judgment and remand the matter to the trial court to enter a new order granting the petition.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND AND FACTS

ACT is the employee organization that serves as the exclusive representative for CVUSD’s teachers. Doe is a high school teacher in CVUSD and a member of ACT. During their² two-decade career with CVUSD, they have never received any warnings or discipline relating to their assignment as a classroom teacher. During the fall of 2016, while Doe was coaching the girls’ volleyball team, CVUSD received two separate complaints from parents/guardians (hereinafter "complainants") of student-athletes, regarding Doe’s conduct, namely, yelling and belittling the student-athletes in public and holding practice at their home. Complainants did not allege any sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, physical violence, threats of violence, drug-related wrongdoing, criminal activity, or any other egregious misconduct.

CVUSD investigated the allegations against Doe and provided complainants with a written disposition of their complaints (dated Oct. 21 & Nov. 21, 2016, collectively disposition letters). Doe received a letter of warning (dated Nov. 4, 2016) and a letter of concern (dated Dec. 1, 2016), which were placed in their official personnel file. The disposition letters were not placed in Doe’s official personnel file. Doe resigned from the coaching position in November 2016.

On or about November 14, 2016, Beau Yarbrough, a staff writer for the Southern California News Group and a contributor to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, requested (1) Doe’s "current job assignment and current salary," (2) "information regarding additional compensation or benefits for coaches at [CVUSD] and the length of coaching assignments," (3) "a copy of all complaints made against [Doe] in [their] career with [CVUSD]" and (4) "any documents relating to the status or resolution of those complaints." Yarbrough later narrowed his request to records that demonstrated the results of CVUSD’s investigation. After determining that the complaints against Doe were substantial in nature and well founded, CVUSD informed Doe of its intent to disclose the disposition letters, while providing them an opportunity to contest such disclosure pursuant to the holding in Marken v. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School Dist. (2012) 202 Cal.App.4th 1250, 136 Cal.Rptr.3d 395 ( Marken ). Doe objected to the release of the disposition letters. Nonetheless, on December 13, 2016, CVUSD notified Doe that it would be releasing them after December 23, 2016, unless prevented from doing so by a court order. On December 19, 2016, CVUSD provided Doe with copies of the letters.

On December 21, 2016, ACT filed a verified petition for writ of mandate seeking to prevent disclosure of the disposition letters. On December 22, 2016, ACT successfully moved ex parte for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and order to show cause for a preliminary injunction, enjoining CVUSD from disclosing Doe’s personnel records during the pendency of the action, and the trial court sealed the relevant documents. Subsequently, the parties stipulated that the preliminary injunction would be in effect pending further order of the court following the hearing on the petition for writ of mandate.

On February 21, 2017, the trial court denied the petition for writ of mandate without providing substantive reasoning or analysis in support of its ruling. Judgment was entered on April 5, 2017, and CVUSD filed a notice of entry of judgment on April 12, 2017.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review.

Generally, "[a]n appellate court’s role in the CPRA process is to ‘conduct an independent review of the trial court’s ruling; factual findings made by the trial court will be upheld if based on substantial evidence. [Citation.]’ " ( Wilder v. Superior Court (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 77, 84, 77 Cal.Rptr.2d 629.) Here, however, the pertinent facts are not disputed and the question is simply whether the CPRA mandates disclosure of the disposition letters. Since the issue involves the application of the CPRA to a given set of facts, it is a question of law subject to de novo appellate review. ( Lorig v. Medical Board (2000) 78 Cal.App.4th 462, 467, 92 Cal.Rptr.2d 862.)

B. The CPRA.

"The California Constitution guarantees both the individual’s right of privacy [citations] and the public’s ‘right of access to information concerning the public’s business’ [citation], including ‘the writings of public officials and agencies.’ [Citations.] With respect to the latter right, the Supreme Court has observed, ‘Openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy. "Implicit in the democratic process is the notion that government should be accountable for its actions. In order to verify accountability, individuals must have access to government files. Such access permits checks against the arbitrary exercise of official power and secrecy in the political process." ’ [Citation.]

"In the CPRA the Legislature has sought to reconcile these two fundamental, but sometimes conflicting, conditional rights. While ‘mindful of the right of individuals to privacy’ [citation], the Legislature has declared ‘access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.’ [Citation.] Thus, the CPRA generally provides ‘every person has a right to inspect any public record ...’ [citation], ‘[e]xcept with respect to public records exempt from disclosure by express provisions of law ....’ [Citation.] Section 6254, in turn, lists 29 categories of documents exempt from the requirement of public disclosure, many of which are designed to protect individual privacy, including, ‘Personnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.’ [Citations.] Section 6255, subdivision (a), also permits a public agency to withhold other records if it can demonstrate ‘on the facts of the particular case the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.’

"These statutory exemptions from mandatory disclosure under the CPRA must be narrowly construed. [Citations.] Moreover, the exemptions from disclosure provided by section 6254 are permissive, not mandatory: They allow nondisclosure but do not prohibit disclosure. [Citations.] Indeed, the penultimate sentence of section 6254 provides, ‘Nothing in this section prevents any agency from opening its records concerning the administration of the agency to public inspection, unless disclosure is otherwise prohibited by law.’ [Citation.]" ( Marken , supra , 202 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1261-1262, 136 Cal.Rptr.3d 395.)

C. The Appeal Is Not Moot Because the Right to Assert Exemption Under the CPRA Has Not Been Forfeited.

Because the disposition letters were disclosed to complainants, CVUSD contends that they are public records, and the appeal therefore is moot. ( Black Panther Party v. Kehoe (1974) 42 Cal.App.3d 645, 656, 117 Cal.Rptr. 106 [citizen complaints to the State Department of Consumer Affairs alleging unethical practices by licensed collection agencies were public records available for public inspection because the agency routinely disclosed them to the affected collection agencies].) We disagree. CVUSD’s unilateral disclosure of the disposition letters to complainants did not forfeit the right to assert the personnel and similar files exemption under the CPRA, nor did it mandate the release of these documents to the general public. ( BRV , Inc . v. Superior Court (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 742, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d 519 ( BRV ).)

In BRV , a school district received complaints that its superintendent had sexually harassed and verbally abused students. ( BRV , supra , 143 Cal.App.4th at p. 747, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d 519.) The district investigated the complaints by retaining a private investigator (PI), who interviewed numerous parents, students, and employees. ( Id . at pp. 747-748, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d 519.) The PI prepared, inter alia, summaries of the interviews and submitted all documents to the district. ( Id . at p. 748, 49 Cal.Rptr.3d 519.) The district...