David Coppedge v. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Gregory Chin, Clark A. Burgess, Kevin Klenk, and Does 1 through 25, inclusive
Published: Jul. 13, 2013 | Result Date: Jan. 15, 2013 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BC435600 Bench Verdict – Defense
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
William J. Becker Jr.
(Freedom X)
Defendant
Cameron W. Fox
(Paul Hastings LLP)
Facts
David Coppedge was a systems administrator, who worked for the California Institute of Technology at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In January 2011, Coppedge was laid off as part of a large workforce reduction due to funding cuts. He claimed that his lay-off was due to his practice of approaching co-workers about sensitive, non-work-related topics (Proposition 8 and his belief in intelligent design), about which several of his co-workers had complained. Caltech contended that Coppedge was laid off because of his lack of skills in needed technologies, his unwillingness to take training, and his poor interpersonal skills with co-workers and customers alike.
Result
Superior Court Judge Ernest M. Hiroshige ruled in favor of JPL in this lawsuit.
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