FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jess Carbajal Files Lawsuit For Wrongful Termination & Retaliation Against Orange County For Botched Investigation Directed By High Level Superiors
Senior County executives attempted to make Jess Carbajal the fall guy for the improper investigation they directed into initial sex allegations leveled against then Santa Ana City Councilman and Public Works Department Executive, Carlos Bustamante.
Jess Carbajal was appointed Director of the Orange County Public Works Department on November 10, 2009. On July 10, 2012, after a decade employed by the County with superior performance evaluations, Jess Carbajal was terminated allegedly for “cause” from his employment (when the cause in fact was political favoritism of superiors).
Senior Orange County executives attempted to deflect from their own culpability to throw Jess Carbajal “under the County Bus” for the County’s improper investigation and handling of sexual allegations made against Carlos Bustamante in March 2011. The County’s executive leadership retaliated against Jess for the repeated objections he made about the County’s handling of the investigation.
Quote from Wylie A. Aitken, Esq: “Jess Carbajal’s termination was wrong on so many levels and the County should be held accountable. In this case we have an upstanding and loyal public servant, Jess Carbajal, who was literally thrown under the County bus by leaders who continually refused to take responsibility for their unlawful actions. Jess acted appropriately throughout his handling of the matter. He voiced the right objections, he raised the right concerns, and acted professionally and capably throughout. Nevertheless, Jess was specifically and repeatedly instructed to follow a particular procedure. As the media and legal firestorm grew and leaders above Jess came under more and more scrutiny for their own actions, they decided to make Jess the scapegoat for their own failures.”
Click here to see a copy of the complaint. Please contact Wylie Aitken or Michael Penn at Tel: (714) 434-1424 for comment or interview requests.
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Michael A. Penn, Attorney
3 MacArthur Place, Suite 800 * Santa Ana, CA 92707
Tel: (714) 434-1424 * Fax: (714) 434-3600
michael@aitkenlaw.com * www.aitkenlaw.com
My preliminary treading of this complain suggests that it is a typical boilerplate merit-less complaint based on which Jess Carbajal will have a hard time to sustain his claims.
Specifically, the 4th and 5th cause of action, the False Light and Defamation respectively, will require to prove “Actual Malice” which I do not see even alleged.