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John A. Lavra

John A. Lavra – Summary Of Significant Litigation

42 U.S.C. § 1983 Civil Rights / Excessive Force, Etc.

Gonzales v. County of Sacramento, Sacramento County Superior Court, No. 91C06260.
False arrest and excessive force against the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Defense verdict after trial.

Doubleday v. County of Sacramento, U.S. District Court, No. CIV-S-92-1 2988 LKK GGH.
False arrest, excessive force, improper officer training policies and procedures. Plaintiff alleges she was subjected to excessive force when an officer allegedly threw her out of a door of a nightclub where she was attending a rock concert and used excessive force in the course of restraining and handcuffing her. Plaintiff also claimed that the Internal Affairs Division of the Department had inappropriate policies and procedures in place to investigate complaints against officers and discipline officers. Defense verdict after trial as to 11 of 12 counts and a hung jury on the remaining count against an individual defendant.

Wright v. County of Sacramento, U.S. District Court, No. CIV-S-94-772 WBS JFM.
Excessive force. Plaintiff suffered a severe spiral fracture of her right humerus with permanent injuries while housed in a holding cell at the jail. Defense verdict after trial.

Wright v. County of Sacramento, U.S. District Court, No. CIV-S-94-772 WBS JFM.
Civil rights case alleging inadequate medical care at the Sacramento County Jail. Defense judgment after trial.

Farnsworth v. County of Sacramento, Sacramento County Superior Court.
False arrest and excessive force case against the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department. Defense verdict after trial.

Johnson v. Careercom, Sacramento County Superior Court, No. C007943.
Personal injury case alleging negligence of teacher in law enforcement training class. Defense verdict on all courts, and plaintiff verdict for special damages and substantially less than the settlement demand.

Employment Litigation

Cantrell v. County of Sacramento, U. S. District Court, No. CIV. S-96-755 FCD JFM.
Civil rights case involving allegations by Sheriff’s Department employee of discrimination and harassment on account of race and national origin. Defense verdict after trial.

McCoy v. County of Sacramento, Sacramento County Superior Court, No. 537108.
Race discrimination. Plaintiff was terminated after working for the Department of Parks and Recreation for approximately 20 years. Plaintiff claimed that his termination was motivated by his being a black male. Defendants contended that there were legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for the plaintiff’s termination including attendance problems and failure to properly manage County park facilities. Defense verdict after trial. Plaintiff’s attorney was Carlos Alcala.

Atwood v. State of California, Sacramento County Superior Court, No. 528570.
Americans with Disabilities Act. The plaintiffs were individuals who used wheelchairs who contended that the State’s construction and maintenance of the State Railroad Museum and the grounds surrounding the museum, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Defense verdict after trial.

Henderson v. San Francisco Community College District, U.S. District Court.
Race discrimination. The plaintiff was a tenured professor of English with San Francisco Community College who claimed that he was passed over for a promotion and that the position was given to a lessor qualified minority applicant. Defendants claimed that all decisions were based upon legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons. A defense verdict was returned on five counts and a mistrial was declared as to the rest.

Wagner v. County of Sacramento, Sacramento Superior Court, Case No. 96AS02416.
Wrongful termination. The plaintiff who was employed with the Sacramento Department of Health and Human services claimed she was terminated from her employment for allegedly reporting improper treatment of indigent mental health patients. The County contended that plaintiff was terminated due to personality conflicts with coworkers and management. After a six-week trial the Court dismissed four counts of the complaint. The case proceeded to a jury on two causes of action. A defense verdict was obtained on one cause of action and plaintiff received a verdict on the other for less than her economic, out-of-pocket wage loss and substantially less than the settlement demand.

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