Facts

Carol Chang, who identifies as Asian American, and Lisa Montes, who identifies as Hispanic/Latina, filed suit against the San Dieguito Union High School District. Chang and Montes, who live within the District's boundaries petitioned to stop certain actions the District was taking regarding its boundaries.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that during the past few years, defendant's governing board had become fractured, voting 3-to-2 on numerous topics, with the majority exhibiting open hostility toward the minority members. The majority group then rearranged the boundaries of the voting areas in order to provide themselves with an electoral advantage without following the proper procedural, statutory requirement for readjusting the boundaries. The readjustment illegally rearranged voting boundaries so that it essentially reduced the voting power of Asian and Latino Americans by reducing their population percentages in certain sub-districts.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all contentions, arguing that plaintiffs were misstating facts without providing evidence. As state law did not specify how much adjustment of voting boundaries were too much, the adjustments were within legal requirements.

Result

After the County Board of Education drew a new map, two causes of action were dismissed as moot. Then the case was settled with each plaintiff being reimbursed $40,000 in legal fees.