Suzanne Solomon 

Suzanne Solomon defends cities, counties and other public agencies against employees’ lawsuits alleging harassment, discrimination and retaliation. She also represents law enforcement agencies in litigation over disciplinary actions.

A few of her recent cases have presented some unusual issues and facts. Currently, she is defending the city of Palo Alto in a lawsuit by six officers over a Black Lives Matter sidewalk mural the city had several artists create following George Floyd’s murder. One letter in the mural included a picture of convicted cop killer Assata Shakur, now living in Cuba. The officers claim they were discriminated against and harassed by the mural.

“I just can’t wait to take depositions in this case,” Solomon said. Figeroa v. City of Palo Alto, 21CV383740 (Sta. Clara Super. Ct., filed June 4, 2021).

In December, she prevailed in a six-week trial defending the state Public Utilities Commission against its former executive director, who had been terminated for violating state hiring rules. In her lawsuit, Alice Stebbins sought nearly $5 million, claiming she was fired in retaliation for bringing serious accounting failures to light. Stebbins v. California Public Utilities Commission, CGC-20-588148 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Dec. 12, 2020).

Solomon said the trial was challenging because the commission had had many serious problems during the previous 10 or 15 years. “We’re working on them. They’re not done yet,” she told the jurors. But, she said, the commission was not upset that Stebbins disclosed some. It had hired her to fix them.

Another challenge was the subject matter. “It’s hard to keep someone awake for six weeks understanding what the CPUC does,” she said. Nonetheless, the jury ruled unanimously for the commission. Stebbins has filed an appeal pro se.

One of Solomon’s police discipline cases has made it to the state Supreme Court in a very unusual way. An officer in Sunnyvale was suspended for 44 hours for making false statements about a lieutenant. The officer filed a writ with the superior court to overturn the ruling, which the court denied. He appealed that action, but instead of ruling on the merits, the appellate court rejected the appeal as filed too late.

The question before the high court is whether the deadline to appeal is measured from when the court initially denies a writ or a few days later when formal judgment is entered. The case has drawn amicus briefs from several environmental organizations. Meinhardt v. City of Sunnyvale, S274147 (Cal., filed April 18, 2022).

“It’s the most expensive two-day suspension in history,” Solomon said. “We’re going to make new law.”

— Don DeBenedictis