The women, who are identified only as Judy Does , will also tell the San Francisco-based federal appeals court they should be allowed to pursue their claims anonymously. The U. District Court for the District of Nevada wrongly dismissed the suit in July , according to the women. Their suit included more details than the complaint the Ninth Circuit found lacking in Bautista v. The circuit allows parties to sue using pseudonyms when the nondisclosure of their identity is required to shield them from personal embarrassment, ridicule, injury, or harassment, they said.
Gov't Code In fact, the second amended complaint alleged that each plaintiff was a member of at least one protected class; that plaintiffs duly performed all conditions of their employment agreement at the Music Center until R. Music terminated their employment on or about August 13, ; that they were all qualified for the positions they held and for which they reapplied; and that similarly situated individuals outside the plaintiffs' protected classes were treated more favorably: i.
In my view, the second amended complaint complied with all of the applicable pleading requirements, and the district court erred in dismissing that complaint. Having said that, the principal reason I do not join Judge Schwarzer's opinion is that it addresses procedural matters never before raised in the litigation and expresses views on those matters which I believe to be incorrect. The defendants did not cite Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8, 10, or 41 in their pleadings.
Nor did the district court rely on those rules in its dismissal order. The parties did not even mention them in their briefs to this court. The requirements the rules set forth are not jurisdictional. I must assume, therefore, that Judge Schwarzer discusses these rules not as a basis for a holding, but rather as a general educational guide for future litigants.
In fact, I am not certain precisely what guidance the lead opinion means to impart, but whatever that guidance may be, it does not appear to me to reflect the purpose or intent of the Federal Rules. Rule 8 a requires that a complaint contain only "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.
Leatherman v. Tarrant Co. The federal rules otherwise "do not require a claimant to set out in detail the facts upon which he bases the claim. Indeed, this court has penalized litigants who fail to comply with "Rule 8's requirement of simplicity, directness, and clarity. The lead opinion asserts that because the plaintiffs' complaint seeks "individual relief for each of the plaintiffs" and is not brought as a class action, it must identify "the transaction or occurrence giving rise to the claim and the elements of the prima facie case" for each plaintiff.
But the complaint already does this. It alleges that on August 13, , R. Music took over the Music Center's food service operations, terminated the plaintiffs' employment, and hired or retained other less qualified workers outside plaintiffs' protected classes.
This court has described the term "transaction or occurrence" as referring to "similarity in the factual background of a claim"; claims that "arise out of a systematic [] pattern of events" arise from the same transaction or occurrence.
Coughlin v. Rogers, F. Downer Corp. Because each plaintiff in this case claims to have lost his or her employment at the same time due to the same event—R. Music's assumption of control over the Music Center's food service operations—their claims arise from the same transaction or occurrence, which the complaint properly relates in a single set of allegations.
True, the complaint states the relevant facts at a high level of generality. But that is the point of notice pleading: a plaintiff need only provide the bare outlines of his claim. As one authoritative treatise has summarized the matter, "except when specific pleading is required. Schwarzer et al. Thus, to the extent that a complaint lacks detail that the defendants believe they need to investigate the claims and prepare their defense strategy, they can obtain such detail readily through interrogatories or early depositions.
Surely Judge Schwarzer does not intend to say that each plaintiff in a multi-plaintiff action must plead each element of his or her claim in repetitious separate paragraphs. Neither the Federal Rules nor common sense would require that rather than alleging in a single paragraph that the plaintiffs were qualified for the positions in which they sought continued employment, the complaint include a separate allegation for each plaintiff, i.
Far from advancing the interests of clarity and precision, the resulting abundance of repetitious allegations would compound the confusion of courts and parties and frustrate the just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution of cases. See Fed. Individual plaintiffs who share particular attributes or experiences relevant to their legal claims should be allowed—indeed, encouraged—to consolidate those attributes or experiences in a single set of allegations. This commonsense approach to pleading finds support not only in Rule 8 a , but also in Rule 10 b.
Regarding factual allegations, Rule 10 b provides that each paragraph should be limited "as far as practicable to a statement of a single set of circumstances. See Original Ballet Russe v. Ballet Theatre, F. As explained above, the three counts in the second amended complaint each correspond to a common transaction or occurrence: the allegedly discriminatory firings of the plaintiffs by R.
The threshold question is the level of scrutiny to be applied to Bautista's constitutional claim. Because the effect of the prohibited-association policy was to deny Bautista the right to remain employed by the Department while becoming involved with Crook—a woman whom he eventually married—he suggests the policy fails under the strict scrutiny standard of review, which accompanies constitutional challenges to laws or policies that infringe on the fundamental right of marriage and similar intimate associations.
See Zablocki v. Redhail U. LaFleur U. In re Marriage Cases 43 Cal. It is well settled, however, that an incidental effect on the right to marry does not subject a law or regulation to strict scrutiny.
See Califano v. Jobst U. Redhail, supra, U. To the contrary, reasonable regulations that do not significantly interfere with decisions to enter into the marital relationship may legitimately be imposed. When, as here, the regulation or policy does not deny a class of persons the fundamental right of marriage guaranteed by the due process clause of the United States Constitution cf.
Loving v. Virginia U. Sharp 32 Cal. See, e. Los Angeles Police Relief Assn. Ortiz, supra, 98 Cal. In Ortiz an employee Ortiz of a public organization that administered police officers' employment benefits was terminated after she refused to end her personal relationship with and impending engagement to a prison inmate. Ortiz complained the termination of her employment violated her right to intimate association and privacy guaranteed by the California Constitution.
We cannot conclude that the Policy sufficiently impacts a fundamental right so as to trigger strict scrutiny. County of Del Norte 9th Cir. Where fundamental rights are not substantially burdened the regulation will be upheld unless there is no rational basis for its enactment.
The court upheld Ortiz's termination, concluding the organization's conflicts of interest rules were rationally related to a legitimate interest—protecting the personal safety and well-being of police officers and their families. Ortiz, at p. Bautista's constitutional claim, although rooted in the federal Constitution rather than the California Constitution, is no more compelling than Ortiz's. See Ortiz, supra, 98 Cal. The Department has a legitimate interest in regulating the behavior of its sworn officers to minimize conflicts of interests and protect the credibility and integrity of the Department.
Phoenix Civil Service Board 9th Cir. In order to protect these interests, the City must establish regulations governing police officers' behavior. Johnson U. Accordingly, anti-fraternization rules prohibiting police officers from socializing with those who they know are engaging in criminal activity have routinely been upheld against constitutional challenges such as Bautista's.
Bautista contends there was insufficient evidence the Department's legitimate interest in preserving its integrity and credibility and minimizing conflicts of interest was compromised by his association with Crook. In fact, he asserts, the evidence was undisputed that his interest and involvement with Crook had been instrumental in Crook's eventual abandonment of prostitution and her recovery from heroin addiction, a result that was undoubtedly beneficial to both the Department and to the larger community it serves.
Undoubtedly, there are certain admirable aspects to Bautista's efforts to help Crook. However, as the trial court observed, Bautista's decision to initiate a personal relationship with Crook, without the Department's approval, was not without costs. Mid-size central NJ firm seeks an attorney with a minimum of years' experience as the primary handler of real estate transactions and ge Madurski to the firm as an associate.
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