LOS ANGELES — Lawyers for Los Angeles County and District Attorney George Gascon have responded to a revised lawsuit filed by a veteran prosecutor who alleges he faced a backlash for being critical of Gascon, saying that Some of the plaintiffs’ claims were filed too late and others still need to be resolved rather than a workers’ compensation claim.
Defense attorneys filed their court papers on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court in response to an amended lawsuit brought May 13 by Deputy District Attorney John Hatami, which is now open to action compared to the five in his original complaint filed last September. Allegations for eight reasons. 3.
“The plaintiff fails to state sufficient facts to constitute the claims on which relief can be granted…”, the defense lawyers said in their court papers. “In so far as the plaintiff seeks recovery for alleged physical and/or emotional injury based on conduct by the defendant that neither violates fundamental California public policy nor exceeds the risks inherent in the employment relationship.. The special remedy for these alleged injuries is an action or claim under the Workers’ Compensation Act.”
According to court papers from defense attorneys, other hatami claims were filed outside the statute of limitations.
Hatami alleges that he has been defamed and denied promotion because he has criticized Gascon’s instructions. Her new complaint also alleges that she was harassed and discriminated against because of her heritage, her religion and her grievances. Hatami is part Iranian and her father is Muslim.
Rather than censure the alleged unequal treatment, Gascon’s office confirmed it by refusing to promote it, the revised suit alleges.
The amended suit alleges, “Gascon maliciously shamed the plaintiff by calling him an ‘internal terrorist’, refused to promote him, and separately removed or failed to quash the plaintiff’s cases, which had been shall ordinarily be designated within his jurisdiction.”
Among the cases assigned to Hatami is the case of Jose Cuatro and María Juárez, a Palmdale couple charged with murder and torture in the death of their 4-year-old son, Noah. He was one of two prosecutors in the trial of Isauro Aguirre and Pearl Fernandez, who were sentenced to death and life in prison without parole, respectively, for the death of their 8-year-old son Gabriel.
When Gascon was sworn in in December 2020, he promised to stop implementing California’s three-strike law, end the death penalty, and create a review board to hold law enforcement officers more accountable. When Hatami criticized Gascon’s changes, he found himself in a hostile work environment, according to his revised complaint.
The amended suit alleges, “Gascan willfully refuses to hand over complex child abuse and murder cases within his jurisdiction.” “This in turn affects (Hatami’s) ability to prove himself for the job and the desired promotion.”
In November 2020, Gascon said in an interview on Spectrum News 1 that the plaintiffs had sought the death penalty in the Gabriel Fernandez case because Aguirre had hurt his ego, that Aguirre had rubbed Hatami unfairly, That Aguirre was not “overwhelming” in the case and according to the suit, Aguirre had refused Hatami’s plea deal.
The comments were “deliberately false” and were intended to damage Hatami’s reputation and fitness to perform his duties, according to the amended suit.
