GIC735917   
BROWN,
KELLEY M  v.
HARTNETT,RODGER

Case Title:   BROWN vs
LIBERTY MUTUAL
INSURANCE COMPANY
Case Number:   GIC735917
Case Location:  San Diego
Case Type:  Civil   
Date Filed:  09/23/1999  
Category:  A60516
 Wrongful
Termination
[Irony seems to have
taken up permanent
residence at
SDCOE-JPA]

Plaintiff/Petitioner    
BROWN     KELLEY M       

Defendant/Respondent    
LIBERTY MUTUAL
INSURANCE COMPANY         
BROWNWOOD     
RANDALL        
BROWNWOOD & RICE            
CANNON     CATHERINE        
GOLDEN EAGLE INSURANCE
CORPORATION            
HARTNETT     RODGER        
"Several publicly owned
insurance companies
have since reported
receiving subpoenas
from San Diego
investigators..."  

--San Diego Union
Tribune, June 25, 2008
Rodger Hartnett v. SDCOE, Diane Crosier, Lora Duzyk et al
P)Rodger J. Hartnett
BARRY M. VREVICH  

07/08/08 08:30AM
C-73
Ex Parte     
37-2008-00081583-CU-WT-CTL     

07/11/08
10:30AMC-73
Denton, Steven R.
Motion Hearing  
37-2008-00081583-CU-WT-CTL
Case Title:   HARTNETT
VS. SAN DIEGO COUNTY
OFFICE OF EDUCATION
Case Location:  San
Diego      
Date Filed:  04/07/2008  
Category:  CU-WT  
Wrongful Termination  

Plaintiff/Petitioner    
HARTNETT     RODGER
J       

Defendant/Respondent      
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
OFFICE OF
EDUCATION         
CROSIER     DIANE        
DUZYK     LORA    
    
FORT-MERRILL     
MICHELE   
     
JENSEN     LISA        
RINEAR     RICK  
      
VINCENT     JOHN        
WARD     RANDOLPH
E   
     
HARTNETT, RODGER J    v.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Defendants and attorneys:

D) San Diego County
Office of Education
Atty. Steven J Cologne

D) Randolph E Ward    
Atty. Steven J Cologne  

D) Lora Duzyk          
Atty. Steven J Cologne

D) Diane Crosier       
Atty. Robert N Hocker       
[McGeorge SOL- now
active  
Admin Inactive/MCLE
noncompliance
9-1-2001]

D) Lisa Jensen       
Robert N Hocker    
[also Chase Manhattan
and auto injury]   

D) Rick Rinear      
Atty. ALAN K.
BRUBAKER     

D) John Vincent   
Atty. GOLNAR J. FOZI   
"...She has successfully
defended lawsuits alleging
police misconduct and
violation of civil rights, one of
which recently resulted in the
published opinion
Crowe
v. City
of Escondido, et
al. (2005) 359 F.Supp.2d 994.
...In addition to the foregoing,
Fozi also represents local
special districts in matters
other than employment law,
such as reviewing and
drafting
indemnity
agreements..."


D) Michele Fort-Merrill
has 3 lawyers:
1. Atty. JOHN R. WERTZ    
2. Atty. Pamela L. Wilson
3. Atty. Amberlynn Deaton
Wertz, McDade, Wallace, Moot
& Brower
Undergraduate School
Univ of California at Los
Angeles
Law School        
Loyola Law School
12/1/2005         Admitted to
The State Bar of California
Old cases
San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE)
California Court of
Appeal
Hartnett v. Duzyk et
al.
Case: D053889
4th District  div 1
2009-02-05
APPELLANT'S
OPENING BRIEF
Case
Information
Woody Merrill, a figure in the Rodger Hartnett case,  fired by Tri-City Health Care District

At the December 18, 2008 board meeting... the board fired legal counsel William W. "Woody"
Merrill, who is also one of the preferred attorneys doing work for San Diego County Office of
Education. Merrill works for Best, Best and Krieger, a firm that has many contracts with public
agencies in San Diego.

Mr. Merrill's wife, Michelle Fort-Merrill, works for SDCOE-JPA, and is currently being sued by
Rodger Hartnett, a former SDCOE-JPA employee.

Merrill was replaced by Julie Biggs, a Riverside attorney who works for Burke, Williams &
Sorenson.
Rodger Hartnett Declaration
(SDCOE lawyers unsuccessfully asked the court to strike this declaration.)
698820   
HARTNETT, RODGER    
CITY OF SANTA MARIA    
San Diego    
04/03/1996   
Paragraph 28:

"I went to Lora Duzyk
with my concerns.  Ms.
Duzyk was Ms.
Crosier's boss.  I
provided her with a
copy of the 1099
report.  

I told her the Shinoff
firm was getting an
unusually high
percentage of our
work.

I told her that the
personal relationships
within our department
and Mr. Shinoff raised
conflict of interest
issues and constituted
improper governmental
business activities.  I
told her
my biggest
concern was that our
legal fees were not
being properly
delegated among our
panel counsel law firms
and it could be a
possible violation of
law.
 I further told her
that I had overheard
Mr. Shinoff tell Rick
Rinnear that I should
not be working for the
SDCOE anymore."
Violence  in schools
Joint Powers Authority
(JPA)
Executive Committee
Larkins case summary
Public Record Requests
Maura Larkins Case
List of School Districts
Lawyers
Public Entities & Press
SELF-Schools Liability

CIPRA

CAJPA

John Burnham Insurance

San Francisco Lawsuit

Insurance
Randy Ward Public
Records
Rodger Hartnett
Declaration
SDCOE
Diane Crosier

Lora Duzyk
Missing Tort Claim

All Claims Denied
Rodger Hartnett v. SDCOE
claim and complaint
Dan Puplava
CALA

CALA Gavel of Justice

Antitrust

Ethics in Education
Deposition of
Ray Artiano
(with SDCOE-JPA atty.
Dan Shinoff acting as
Artiano's counsel)
"Not coincidentally,
Mr. McNulty used to
work together with
Ms. Crosier, Mr.
Rinear, Mr. Vincent,
and Ms. Jensen at
Ward North America
when Mr. Shinoff was
their defense
counsel for JPA
claims."
"...Winet firm's
representation of Ms.
Crosier in her own personal
injury lawsuit, additional
improper personal
relationships between Mr.
Shinoff and Mr. Vincent,
issues regarding the Winet
firm's employment of Lisa
Jensen's husband Chris
Jensen and the referral of
legal business to Mr.
Merrill's firm by Ms.
Fort-Merrill or at her
recommendation...Dr. Ward
testified in my subsequent
appeal hearing that he
never read the letter..."
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Blog posts regarding
Rodger Hartnett
See Hartnett declaration below.
Summary Judgment ruling July 29, 2010
Judge Steven R. Denton
Summary Judgment--Wrongful Termination
37-2008-00081583-CU-WT-CTL
HARTNETT VS. SAN DIEGO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Defendants LORA DUZYK and MICHELLE FORT-MERRILL'S motions for summary judgment are GRANTED.
C.C.P. § 437c. These defendants are only parties to the sixth cause of action within the Second Amended
Complaint such that this ruling is directed to the sixth cause of action only.
Judge Orders Back Pay for Fired Schools Employee
March 3, 2011
by Emily Alpert
Voice of San Diego

A Superior Court judge has ruled that a former San Diego County Office of Education employee
who filed a wrongful termination suit against the agency must be given more than $200,000 in
back pay and medical premium reimbursements — more than 11 times as much as the agency
initially sought to pay him.

Rodger Hartnett once helped oversee litigation as a claims coordinator for the Risk Management
Joint Powers Authority, a public agency run through the county office that handles lawsuits for
schools.

He was terminated more than three years ago and has been locked in a lengthy legal battle with
the office since then. Hartnett claims he was fired for blowing the whistle on conflicts of interest at
the agency; the office says he was fired for negligence, insubordination and dishonesty. An
internal commission found that Hartnett's termination was "for good cause and not excessive."

The same judge ruled nearly two years ago that Hartnett should be reinstated and awarded back
pay to the date of his firing, concluding that the office did not investigate Hartnett's claims about
"insider dealings" before his firing. The judge didn't address whether Hartnett was justified in
those claims.

We've reported on a several issues that Hartnett raised in his suit, including the fact that another
employee has advised her boss on whether to retain attorneys for personnel cases, something
that routinely led to business for her husband's law firm. The issue is now being investigated by
the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

The County Office of Education gave Hartnett less than $18,000 in back pay after his earlier
reinstatement. He took the office back to court, arguing it had underpaid him. The key issue was
whether the office could dock Hartnett for time when he was medically or psychiatrically disabled
from working.

The court ruled that it could not, concluding that his stress was directly related to disputes with his
employer. The judge did not settle larger issues that remain in the Hartnett litigation, including
whether the alleged conflicts of interest were real and whether Hartnett was retaliated against as a
whistleblower. The County Office of Education declined to comment on the ruling.
Tort Claim and complaint  Rodger Hartnett v. SDCOE, Diane Crosier, et al
March 27, 2009 Rodger Hartnett wins v. SDCOE
SDCOE contract atty. Dan Shinoff took SDCOE employees to this restaurant for lunch.
Sept 2009 Rodger Hartnett win is upheld in court of appeal  
San Diego Education Report
SDER
San Diego
Education Report
SDER
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