Facts

Cody Baca is a certified nursing assistant. In 2008, Baca began working at John Muir Heath (JMH), where he worked with registered nurses to provide patient care. While Baca was working at JMH, a patient complained that a man had sexually assaulted him while he slept. The patient notified police and the nursing staff, and JMH's Medical and Surgical Services Director, Daman Mott, interviewed him. Mott asked the patient to look at photographs of JMH employees to see if he could identify the assailant. Although Mott showed the patient photos of the employees who worked in the patient's unit twice, he did not identify anyone as his assailant. Then, the director showed the patient a picture of Baca, told the patient Baca had been his CNA the prior night, and the patient replied, "That's him."

When Baca was interviewed by police and JMH's director of employee and labor relations, he denied touching the patient's genitals. Moreover, the patient's attending physician was of the opinion medication had caused the patient to have a vivid dream that he had been assaulted. A DNA swab and subsequent test of the patient's genitals, however, found Baca's DNA was present. In February 2018, Baca was charged with two counts of sexual battery and one count of first-degree burglary.

On March 1, 2018, JMH's president circulated a memo to JMH staff disclosing that Baca had been arrested, the nature of the allegations, and that he had been placed on leave. After a six-week trial in 2019, a jury acquitted Baca of all charges.

Baca was reinstated at JMH on October 1, 2019, and on October 25, 2019, Baca and his wife, Leticia Baca, filed suit in Contra Costa County Superior Court against JMH and Mott.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTETNIONS: Plaintiffs contended that the defendants had been negligent; had defamed Baca; had caused loss of consortium; and had intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon them.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied any wrongdoing or liability.

Result

The court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment.