A state decide has thrown out a lawsuit filed by former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva that alleged the county defamed him, violated his rights and unfairly flagged his personnel file with a “don’t rehire” tag.
In a 26-page order, Superior Court docket Choose Gary D. Roberts on Wednesday granted a request by the county to reject the lawsuit beneath California’s Anti-SLAPP legislation, writing that Villanueva’s claims lack “minimal benefit.”
The case’s dismissal is “a significant victory,” based on Jason Tokoro, an legal professional for the county.
“We’re happy that the Court docket agreed with the County that former Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s claims are barred by California’s anti-SLAPP statute and had no benefit,” he wrote in an emailed assertion Thursday. “The County can now shut this chapter.”
The choice marks the third time a court docket has dismissed Villanueva’s assertions that the county had handled him unfairly and prompted him to endure “humiliation, extreme emotional misery, psychological and bodily ache and anguish, and compensatory damages.”
The grievance in Villanueva’s lawsuit filed in June stated it was an “try and clear his identify, vindicate his repute, and be made complete for the emotional misery defendants’ actions have prompted him.”
Villanueva beforehand tried to sue in federal court docket. In September 2024, a decide within the Central District of California rejected the previous sheriff’s $25-million federal lawsuit over the allegations, then did so once more in Might after Villanueva refiled the case.
Villanueva didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Thursday. The Sheriff’s Division declined to remark.
The dispute started after Inspector Basic Max Hunstman claimed in 2022 that Villanueva engaged in a “racially based mostly assault” by insisting on calling Huntsman by the identify he was given at start, Max-Gustaf. Villanueva additionally described Huntsman as a Holocaust denier, an allegation for which he didn’t present any proof and which the inspector common has denied.
The county investigated Huntsman’s allegation and slapped the previous sheriff with the “don’t rehire” label. Every year, a county panel recommends dozens of presidency workers be disciplined for a variety of unethical conduct starting from theft to privateness violations by including “don’t rent” or different restrictions to their personnel recordsdata.
In his state lawsuit, Villanueva argued it was unfair for him to be topic to a “don’t rent” designation whereas a number of public officers who had engaged in unlawful conduct prevented the tag. Villanueva has maintained that he by no means discriminated towards or harassed anybody.
“The unprecedented determination by the Board to position Villanueva on a ‘Do Not Rent’ was the results of a defamatory cost of discrimination and harassment,” the previous sheriff wrote within the June grievance.
Across the identical time Huntsman made his allegation, Esther Lim, then-justice deputy for county Supervisor Hilda Solis, made a grievance alleging that Villanueva had a sample of harassing ladies of colour throughout livestreams on social media. The allegation additionally prompted an investigation and a “don’t rent” tag, which Villanueva has disputed.
