A federal judge has dismissed a retaliation lawsuit brought by a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy whose reinstatement sparked a battle between the sheriff and the Board of Supervisors.
Caren Carl Mandoyan sued L.A. County in April, alleging that his support for newly elected Sheriff Alex Villanueva and former sheriff candidate Jim Hellmold in the 2014 election had made him a target of retaliation. He claimed that county leaders withheld his pay and are unfairly trying to push him out of the department.
In a 10-page order Thursday, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter wrote that Mandoyan’s claims were already litigated before the Civil Service Commission, which upheld his termination, and are beyond the statute of limitations. The judge also wrote that Mandoyan’s argument that he was retaliated against because of his support for Villanueva failed because, at the time of the election his termination had been upheld and he had “no legal right” to work for the Sheriff’s Department.
Louis “Skip” Miller, an attorney representing the county and the Board of Supervisors, said he was pleased with the decision.
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