ARI MARKEN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant and Respondent; MICHAEL CHWE, Movant and Appellant., 202 Cal. App. 4th 1250

Summary

The court of appeal held first that a writ of mandate was the appropriate procedure to present to the court an action of a third party seeking to challenge an agency's decision to disclose documents, or reverse-CPRA action. In the current action, the teacher's request for preliminary injunction was properly denied because the public's right to know outweighed the teacher's privacy interest in shielding the information from disclosure. The exemption from mandatory disclosure in Gov. Code, § 6254, subd. (c) (disclosure of personnel records constituting an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy) was inapplicable in light of an investigator's factual finding that a number of specifically described acts or comments more than likely occurred and the district's conclusion that the teacher's conduct violated its policy prohibiting the sexual harassment of students. The high school math teacher, although not a high profile official or accused of violence, was in a position of trust and ...