Cory Briggs

JUDGE DENIES MENDOZA’S REQUEST TO EXTEND RESTRAINING ORDER , MAY ORDER HER TO PAY LEGAL FEES IN LEBARON’S ANTI-SLAPP SUIT

 

By Jessyka Heredia

Watch Full Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wkN9EZZbEw

 

August 15, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove Councilmember Liana LeBaron came out as the lone victor in the restraining order filed back in February by Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza Monday at the El Cajon Superior court. Mendoza may also have to pay LeBaron’s legal fees in an anti-SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit against A Public Participation) counter suit filed by LeBaron.


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BRIGGS FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST LEMON GROVE OVER RECORDS OBSTRUCTION

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Matt Manosh: Lemon Grove City Clerk Audrey Malone denied attorney Cory Briggs' request to inspect public records the day before a proposed censure motion of Councilmember Liana LeBaron.

March 28, 2022 (Lemon Grove) – Attorney Cory Briggs has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the nonprofit Project for Open Government against the city of Lemon Grove. The suit alleges that the city acted illegally in failing to respond to multiple public records requests related to the city’s proposed censure and discplinary actions toward Councilmember Liana LeBaron. The City also denied Briggs access to inspect public records when he came to city hall in person the day before the censure hearing, and has still failed to respond weeks later.

The suit seeks a court order requiring the city to full comply with the California Public Records Act, California Constitution, common law and other applicable laws by disclosing all records requested. Briggs also seeks injunctive relief to inspect and copy public records (or portions allowed by law), as well as attorney fees and legal expenses.


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BRIGGS SENDS LETTER TO LEMON GROVE DEMANDING CORRECTION OF BROWN ACT VIOLATIONS, STATES INTENT TO SUE

By Miriam Raftery

March 14, 2022 (Lemon Grove) – Attorney Cory Briggs, on behalf of the Project for Open Government, has sent a letter to Lemon Grove’s elected officials demanding that the City cure and correct alleged violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open government law. The letter, dated March 10, also announces an intent to sue the City over actions that Briggs claims deprive Councilmember Liana LeBaron of rights to express herself and represent her constituents.

Specifically, Briggs contends that several actions taken to penalize LeBaron should have been on the Council agenda, but were not. These include:

  • Prohibiting LeBaron and other Councilmembers from interacting with staff regarding city services, except through the City Manager
  • Revoking Councilmembers’ access codes to City Hall

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LEMON GROVE TAKES A BREATH AT THE BRINK OF CENSURE

 


Council backs off censure of Councilmember LeBaron after her supporters weigh in and an attorney questions legality of proposed action


By Elijah McKee


March 10, 2022 (Lemon Grove) — “It’s a sad day in Lemon Grove. We’re better than this,” expressed Mayor Raquel Vasquez near the end of her remarks during Lemon Grove’s special City Council meeting on Tuesday night.

 

"This brings me no joy,” echoed Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza, though the two voted on opposite sides over whether to censure Councilmember Liana LeBaron.

 

The meeting was held for one reason only — to debate a resolution that would have formally condemned LeBaron’s behavior. The severity of the resolution was evident by its verbs, which included condemn, reject, admonish, refrain, cease and desist. (See ECM’s prior coverage of the proposed censure resolution.)

Audio: 


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LEMON GROVE TO CONSIDER CENSURE OF COUNCILMEMBER LEBARON MARCH 8, THREATENS TO SEEK RESTRAINING ORDER

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Councilmember Liana LeBaron

Updated March 6, 2022 8:30 p.m. with comments from Councilman Gastil.

March 6, 2022 (Lemon Grove)  -- After weeks of contentious meetings, the Lemon Grove City Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, March 8 to consider a resolution for the Council majority to condemn alleged misconduct by Councilmember Liana LeBaron including disruptions at Council meetings and accusations made against staffers that the City contends are false.

The City Attorney has also sent a letter to LeBaron and other Councilmembers threatening legal action against her. 

Le Baron has denied wrongdoing. An attorney representing the Project for Open Government has also weighed in, criticizing the City's actions.


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CORY BRIGGS PREVAILS IN TWO LAWSUITS AGAINST MARA ELLIOTT OVER BALLOT STATEMENTS IN CITY ATTORNEY RACE

 



By Miriam Raftery

August 27, 2020 (San Diego) – In the hotly contested San Diego City Attorney race, attorney Cory Briggs has won two lawsuits against incumbent Mara Elliott., Elliott has been ordered to correct her ballot statement which asserted that she was endorsed by the San Diego Union Tribune. In a separate case, a judge ruled that Briggs can use the ballot designation “taxpayer advocate.”


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HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: CORY BRIGGS RUNS FOR CITY ATTORNEY AS ADVOCATE FOR TAXPAYERS, WATCHDOG FOR DEMOCRACY

Listen to our interview: click here.

By Miriam Raftery

September 18, 2019 (San Diego) -- Cory Briggs has a two decades-long record as an attorney challenging insider power brokers who’ve dominated city hall for decades. He’s been described by Times of San Diego as the “bane of downtown developers” and has filed numerous lawsuits successfully championing taxpayers, voters’ rights, the environment and government transparency. He’s also taught law--including professional ethics.

Now he’s running for San Diego City Attorney against incumbent Mara Elliott, promising to be a taxpayers’ advocate if elected.  In our interview originally aired on KNSJ radio, he criticizes Elliott for trying to gut California’s Public Records Act, backing “frivolous” suits thrown out of court, and mishandling allegations of child abuse at the San Diego Junior Theatre, among other issues.  Click the audio link to hear the full interview, and scroll down for highlights.

Audio: 


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CAJON VALLEY AGREES TO COMPLY WITH BROWN ACT ON MEETING RECORDINGS, BUT DRAGS FEET ON OTHER RECORDS REQUESTS

By Miriam Raftery

Listen to audios of CVUSD meetings from Dec.-March (scroll down)

Photos: unobtrusive recording device on tripod used by ECM reporter at two recent meetings does not obstruct views or traffic.

June 6, 2019 (El Cajon) – It took cease and desist letters sent by two attorneys to the Cajon Valley Union School District for ECM to obtain recordings of public meetings previously denied, along with assurances that our reporters will not be threatened for recording school board meetings ourselves. But other important records requests remain pending beyond the time frames mandated by state law.  

More than five months after our initial Public Records Act request for tapes of public meetings, the Cajon Valley Union School District has turned over all but one recording from December 2018 through March 2019.  Miraculously, those include a Dec. 11, 2018 recording that the district previously informed ECM had been destroyed. The one missing audio file, for March 12, 2019, was not available to a technical difficulty, the district claims in a letter sent to Californians Aware attorney Terry Francke.  

The records were provided to Francke after the attorney notified the district that its refusal to provide copies of recordings violated the Ralph M. Brown Act (California’s public records act) to ECM reporter Paul Kruze and to board member Jill Barto.  The district’s purported destruction of the December recording after 30 days despite a records request made just one day after the meeting, as claimed by executive assistant Naomie Rodriguez, was also illegal, Francke informed the district.

The district sent its recordings only to Francke, with a short window to download copies, but never did provide copies directly to either Kruze or Barto, both have confirmed. Barto says the district has refused to provide CDs for any meeting prior to May, and that they told her they won’t provide CDs unless a request is made within 30 days of a meeting – backtracking off their vote in  late March to retain recordings for a year and make them available on CD, as ECM reported.

Audio: 


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ATTORNEY CORY BRIGGS REPRESENTS EAST COUNTY MAGAZINE IN ACTION AGAINST CAJON VALLEY SCHOOL BOARD

“Based on your agency’s history of deleting audio recordings of board meetings, it has become necessary for reporters to record the meetings because your agency cannot be trusted to carry out this basic governance function.Now that all board members are on notice of the fact that the public must perform this function, any member’s participation in a meeting at which the public has been thwarted in its efforts to make a recording will subject the member to criminal prosecution.” – Attorney Cory Briggs, in a letter to the CVUSD.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  ECM's recording device, a cell-phone sized recorder on a small tripod next to the front left seat, is clearly not obstructive or disruptive at the May 7 board workshop.

May 17, 2019 (El Cajon) – “Despite lawfully occupying open seats in the front  row, reporters have been threatened with arrest, removal, or both if they did not move to the back of the room,” states a letter sent by Attorney Cory Briggs of Briggs Law Corporation to Cajon Valley Union School District yesterday on behalf of East County Magazine. His letter makes clear that such conduct is “flatly illegal.”

On May 7, Ryan Love, safety and security officer for the district, ordered ECM contributing editor Paul Kruze and editor Miriam Raftery to move to the back, where we explained that audio recordings would not turn out due to noise from an air conditioner and the audience. We refused to comply with this illegal request. 

On May 14, Love again demanded that Kruze move from the front row to the back, and Kruze again refused. Kruze says he was told that an El Cajon Police officer would be called to arrest him.


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GROSSMONT DISTRICT ADMITS IT PAID PR FIRM WITH SCHOOL BOND MONEY

 

East County’s largest school district inappropriately used at least $27,000 in bond money to pay a public relations firm to combat what it called a “barrage of misinformation” on its Alpine legal fight.  

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a San Diego Online News Association member.

Photo: Scott Patterson (inset) is deputy superintendent of business for the Grossmont Union High School District.

View video: https://youtu.be/uGyrxCXcGO0

By Ken Stone

February 25, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - Documents obtained through a Public Records Act request and official statements confirm that Proposition U bond funds for Grossmont Union High School District projects were used to pay Apex Strategies, led by prominent local PR agent Tony Manolatos.


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POLITICAL REFLECTIONS: FILNER - MAYOR BEHAVING BADLY

 

By Mark Gabrish Conlan

July 19, 2013 (San Diego) – Just when you thought the current sex scandal involving San Diego Mayor Bob Filner couldn’t get any weirder, it did. On July 17 KGTV Channel 10 broke the news that Filner had been booked to be the keynote speaker at the National Military Women Veterans’ Association of America’s gala event in San Diego August 30-31. They had originally planned to give him a “Lifetime of Leadership” award honoring his work on behalf of veterans in general and military veterans in particular. But with allegations that Filner routinely harassed women, including his staff members, in the workplace and at community events, the group decided to rescind the award but keep him on as a speaker. “He is now the keynote speaker for these injustices,” said the group’s official statement.


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SUPPORTERS CALL ON MAYOR FILNER TO RESIGN OVER ALLEGED SEXUAL HARASSMENT, BUT DECLINE TO DISCLOSE DETAILS

 

 

 

Photo: Filner and Frye earlier this year joined in presenting open government award to Terry Francke at Californians Aware, an organization Frye now heads after leaving the Filner administration.

 

By Nadin Abbott

Miriam Raftery also contributed to this story

July 11, 2013 (San Diego) – At a press conference today, three former supporters of Mayor Bob Filner called for his resignation, claiming to have credible evidence of sexual harassment involving multiple women.  They declined to provide any details on the alleged acts of harassment, nor have any of the women been publicly identified. However, Mayor Filner has acknowledged failing to respect women in his workplace and admitted to needing help.

Donna Frye, formerly Filner’s Director of Open Government as well as a past Council member and former mayoral candidate, joined with attorneys Cory Briggs and Marco Gonzalez in asking the Mayor to step down.   Hear audio of today's press conference from KNSJ 89.1 FM news:  https://soundcloud.com/mikehancock/frye


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