FATHINA HOLMES VS. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ET AL

Matter on the Law & Motion/Discovery Calendar for Tuesday, June 03, 2025, Line 9, DEFENDANT CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO's Motion For Protective Order To Prevent Plaintiff From Deposing Oewd Executive Director Sarah Dennis Phillips. (Part 2 of 2).

Moreover, Plaintiff has demonstrated Phillips has personal knowledge of discoverable information (i.e., information that could lead to the discovery of admissible evidence). Plaintiff is suing for, among other things, wrongful termination. Phillips terminated Plaintiff. CCSF dismisses Phillips's termination letter, claiming she signed it "only in her role as department head," and she "has no personal knowledge of the facts justifying Plaintiff's termination." The record, however, contains no evidence regarding OEWD's practices as to termination letters, nor does it contain support for the notion that supervisors or department heads authorize terminations with "no personal knowledge of the [relevant] facts."

Perhaps the play is in the definition of "personal knowledge," but it seems beyond purview that the person authorizing a job termination likely has information that could lead to the discovery of admissible evidence on the terminated employee's wrongful termination claim. Indeed, here, there is strong evidence that Phillips was the decision maker, who terminated Plaintiff after reviewing an investigative report regarding her and conferring with a staff member. It is clear Phillips has unique knowledge of discoverable information.

The record does not demonstrate that Phillips' information can be reasonably acquired by other means. CCSF moved for an order prohibiting the deposition and on this record the court denies the motion.

For the 9:00 a.m. calendar, all attorneys and parties may appear in Department 302 remotely or in person. Remote hearings will be conducted by videoconference using Zoom. (Dept. 302 Zoom ID 160 409 7690; Passcode 516287.) To appear remotely at the hearing, go to the court's website at sfsuperiorcourt.org under "Online Services," navigate to "Tentative Rulings," and click on the appropriate link, or dial the corresponding phone number.

Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to contestdept302tr@sftc.org with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests. The subject line of the email shall include the line number, case name and case number. The text of the email shall include the name and contact information, including email address, of the attorney or party who will appear at the hearing.

Counsel for the prevailing party is required to prepare a proposed order which repeats verbatim the substantive portion of the tentative ruling and must email it to contestdept302tr@sftc.org prior to the hearing even if the tentative ruling is not contested.