smira v sloat lawsuit
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Jesse Ortiz (CA Bar Assn No 176450)
jessejesseortizlawcom Ben Williams (CA Bar Assn No 284884) benjesseortizlawcom Jesse Ortiz Law 917 7th Street Sacramento CA 95814 Telephone (916) 443-9500 Facsimile (916) 443-9501
Attorneys for Plaintiff RHONDASMIRA and ORLEANS CONSLUTING GROUP LLC
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUN~Y OF SACRAMENTO
) Case No ) ) COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGESRHONDA S~IKA an individucJ )
ORIENJS CONSLULTING GROJP I LLC I 1 Violation of Business ampa California Limited Liabiliti Professions Code 17200Company )
) 2 Declaratory Relief 3 Violation of the PoliticalPlaintiff
Reform Act vs 4 Wrongful Termination in
Violation of Public KEVIN SLOAT an individuQl Policy andSLOAT HIGGENS JENSEN amp S DefamationASSOCIATES LLC r A ifornia Limited Liability Company and DOES 1 through 50 inclusive
Defendans I
I I
Plaintiffs RHONDA SMIRA and ORLEANS CONSULTING GROUP LLC r
hereby complain and allege as follows
PARTIES
1 Plaintiff RHONDA SMIRA (hereinafter Plaintiff
andor SMIRA) is and at all times herein mentioned was an
individual residing in Sacramento County California
2 Plaintiff ORLEANS CONSULTING GROUP LLC (hereinafter
ORLEANS andor collectively referred to as Plaintiffs) is
Complaint for Damages-1
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and at all herein mentioned was a California Limited Liability
Company
3 Defendant KEVIN SLOAT (hereinafter Defendant andor
SLOAT) is and at all times herein mentioned was an
individual residing in Sacramento County California SLOAT is a
registered lobbyist and is bound by the laws and regulations of
the California Political Reform Act of 1974 (PRA) SLOAT is
the principal and founder of SLOAT HIGGINS JENSEN amp ASSOCIATES
LLC
4 As a registeredlobbyist and the owner of a registered
lobbying firm SLOAT attended regular Ethics Training courses on
the laws and regulations of the PEA The Ethics Training courses
cover the laws and regulationsmiddot of lobbyists making and arranging
gifts and the illegality of lobbyists and lobbying firms making
campaign contributions
5 SLOAT is one of the most connected and powerful
political figures in California and has been ranked as one of
the 100 most powerful people in California politics
6 Defendant SIOAT HIGGINS JENSEN amp ASSOCIATES LLC
(hereinafter SHJ andor collectively referred to as
Defendants) is and at all times herein mentioned was a
California Limited Liability Company
7 SHJ is a registered lobbying firm headquartered in
Sacramento California and is bound by the laws and regulations
of the PRA Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon
alleges that all directors officers and shareholders of SHJ
reside in Sacramento County California and that all of its
substantive operational decisions are made in Sacramento County
8 SHJ is one of the largest lobbying firms in
California SHJ is consistently one of the top five lobbying
firms in California as measured by annual billings The firm is
Complaint for Damages-2
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paid millions of dollars by Fortune 500 energyutility and
insurance companies SHJ clients have contributed millions of
dollars of campaign contributions to candidates and elected
officials
9 There exists and at all times herein mentioned there
existed a unity of interest and ownership between defendants
SHJ and SLOAT such that any individuality and separateness
between them have ceased and defendants SHJ is the alter ego of
defendant SLOAT in that Plaintiff is informed and believes and
thereon alleges SLOAT (a) commingles and uses assets and funds
of SHJ for his personal use without adequate consideration
andor recordkeeping (b) uses middotSHJmiddot as a mere shell
instrumentality and conduit to carryon his personal business
and exercises complete control anddominance over SHJ to suchmiddotan
extent that any individuality and separateness between SHJ and
SLOAT does not and at allmiddot relevant times herein mentioned did
not exist and (c) fails to adhere to and disregards corporate
governance recordkeeping and formalities obligations
10 Plaintiffs are ignorant of the true names and
capacities of the defendants sued herein as DOES 1-50
inclusive and therefore sues these defendants by such
fictitious names Plaintiffs will amend the complaint to allege
their true names and capacities when ascertained Plaintiffs are
informed and believes and thereon alleges that each of the
fictitious named defendants are responsible in some manner for
the occurrences herein alleged and that Plaintiffs losses are
herein alleged were proximately caused by such negligent andor
wrongful conduct
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
11 On or about January 1 2000 SMlRA became an employee
of SHJ As an employee Plaintiffs responsibilities included
Complaint for Damages-3
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registering SHJ as a lobbying firm compiling and submitting the
registration for SHJ lobbyists coordinating the r~gistration of
SHJ clients as lobbyist employers compiling and filing
quarterly lobbying activities and payment disclosure reports
and coordinating and filing out the quarterly lobbying employer
reports Further Plaintiff was responsible for assuring that
SHJ was in compliance with the PRA
12 Defendants regularly hosted elaborate fundraisers at
SLOATs mansion on the exclusive Crocker Road in Sacramento
California in the SHJ offices and at a local wine bar where
Defendants have a wine locker stocked with thousands of dollars
of rare wines The elaborate events were almost exclusively
limited to Defendants clients and contributions were made to
the candidates by both the Defendants clients and Defendants
13 SLOAT acting as the owner ofSHJ and at his sole
discretion chose which candidates and-elected officials
Defendants would host fundraisers for Defendant would consider
several factors when identifying which candidates and elected
officials he would host events and make contributions to If an
elected official was a member of a committee that would hear
bills sponsored by supported by or opposed by Defendants
clients would make contributions to the elected officials If an
elected official were in a special position of power such as
Senate and Assembly leadership posts or if an elected official
was just considered a friend of the firm SLOAT would host a
fundraiser where Defendants as well as Defendants clients would
make a contribution to the elected official Occasionally
elected officials would even ask SLOAT to host events and would
solicit contributions from Defendants and Defendants clients
14 The fundraisers were always attended by SHJs clients
and the candidates received campaign contributions in exchange
complaint for Damages-4
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for attending the fundraisers In many cases SLOAT was meeting
the candidates for the very first time at the hosted fundraiser
15 Once SLOAT decided to host a fundraiser SMIRA was
directed to reach out to the elected official or candidate to
coordinate schedules arrange logistics and establish an
understanding as to how much money the candidate or elected
official could expect to receive by attending the fundraiser A
typical evening at Defendants mansion would result in between
$10000 and $50000 for an elected official
16 Defendants would pay SMIRA to reach out to
Defendants clients to notify the clients of the event and tell
the client how much the client is expected to contribute to the
elected official Defendants had a static list of approximately
30 clients that Plaintiff was directed to invitetomiddotevery
fundraiser hosted by Defendants This list was a partial list of
SJH clients who were told on multiple occasions by Defendants
that Defendants would host private fundraisers for candidates
and the clients were expected to contribute and attend each
event In exchange SJH clients were promised exclusive access
to the Governor legislators or candidates
17 Defendants were very clear with SMlRA that she was
only to invite clients on the list because SLOAT said they were
his go to clients admiddot their campaign contribution budgets were
actually his to distribute at his discretion Plaintiff is
informed and believes and thereon alleges that the clients on
the list were the clients SLOAT Saw as unsophisticated and
clients who did not ask why they were making contributions to
the candidates The more sophisticated clients who required
background or some rationale as to why Defendant was asking them
to contribute were only rarely invited
complaint for Damages-S
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18 Once the attending clients were determined SMlRA
would then reach out to the elected officials representative to
provide a list of all clients who would be attending the event
as well as how much each client would be contributing Plaintiff
would then send invitations to the fundraiser to the designated
list of clients Of the hundreds of invitations sent to
candidates since early 2000 none met the current disclosure and
notification laws set forth by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) regulations
19 At these fundraisers SMlRA would hire a caterer
develop a menu sample the caterers cooking purchase cases of
expensive wine and alcohol purchase decorations and spend
hours at the mansion prior to the event making sure the details
of the event were all in order Plaintiff would then attend the
fundraiser as an employee to help manage the caterers act as a
hostess to the clients and the candidates
20 After the eventmiddot SMIR~ would coordinate the clean-upmiddot
of the event make sure staff was paid or invoices were
submitted would follow up with Defendants clients to make sure
campaign contribution checks were delivered to the elected
officials representative Plaintiff would spend between 10-15
hours at each fundraising event at a cost to Defendants of
approximately $1000
21 At each fundraiser Defendants would spend between
$1000 and $2000 on expensive bottles of wine for the events
In addition Defendants would expense decorations flowers
imported cigars and high-end cognac scotched and whiskeys
These expenses were all paid for with SHJ funds
22 Defendants would never charge a rental fee to the
elected officials campaign for the cost of hosting the event at
SLOATs mansion
Complaint for Damages-6
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23 The expenses associated with hosting the fundraiser
are considered non-monetary campaign contributions Neither
Defendants nor the elected officials would declare the nonshy
monetary contributions to the FPPC andor the Secretary of
State
24 On numerous occasions SMlRA notified Defendants of
her understanding that providing thousands of dollars in wine
and alcohol expensive cigars paying for catering and rentals
utilizing her time as a SHJ employee as well as providing
SLOATs personal residence without charging arental fee were
all illegal non-monetary campaign contributions
25 Due to her growipg concerns regarding the likely
impropriety being committed by Defendants Plaintiff solicited
and received several legal opinions from Legal Counsel for
Defendants regarding the illegality of the non-monetary campaign
contributions Defendants were making
26 Legal Counsel confirmed the impropriety of the nonshy
monetary campaign contributions
27 SMlRA in light of her investigation and research
opined that under the PRA SLOAT and SHJ could not make any
campaign contributions either monetary or non-monetary
Further SMlRA contended that DefendaIlts must charge a rental
fee to the client for some portion of the mortgage on his
mansion because as the sole owner of a lobbying firm he could
not provide a free venue for a fundraiser By not charging a
rental fee defendants were making a non-monetary contribution
to an elected official
28 Plaintiff also communicated on several occasions
directly to Defehdant that Defendants could not use SHJ paid
employees to arrange staff and support the fundraising
activities Defendants paid employees time results in a non-
Complaint for Damages-7
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
Complaint for Damages-8
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
elected officials including but not limited to 11 Senators 26
Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
Complaint for Damages-9
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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and at all herein mentioned was a California Limited Liability
Company
3 Defendant KEVIN SLOAT (hereinafter Defendant andor
SLOAT) is and at all times herein mentioned was an
individual residing in Sacramento County California SLOAT is a
registered lobbyist and is bound by the laws and regulations of
the California Political Reform Act of 1974 (PRA) SLOAT is
the principal and founder of SLOAT HIGGINS JENSEN amp ASSOCIATES
LLC
4 As a registeredlobbyist and the owner of a registered
lobbying firm SLOAT attended regular Ethics Training courses on
the laws and regulations of the PEA The Ethics Training courses
cover the laws and regulationsmiddot of lobbyists making and arranging
gifts and the illegality of lobbyists and lobbying firms making
campaign contributions
5 SLOAT is one of the most connected and powerful
political figures in California and has been ranked as one of
the 100 most powerful people in California politics
6 Defendant SIOAT HIGGINS JENSEN amp ASSOCIATES LLC
(hereinafter SHJ andor collectively referred to as
Defendants) is and at all times herein mentioned was a
California Limited Liability Company
7 SHJ is a registered lobbying firm headquartered in
Sacramento California and is bound by the laws and regulations
of the PRA Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon
alleges that all directors officers and shareholders of SHJ
reside in Sacramento County California and that all of its
substantive operational decisions are made in Sacramento County
8 SHJ is one of the largest lobbying firms in
California SHJ is consistently one of the top five lobbying
firms in California as measured by annual billings The firm is
Complaint for Damages-2
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paid millions of dollars by Fortune 500 energyutility and
insurance companies SHJ clients have contributed millions of
dollars of campaign contributions to candidates and elected
officials
9 There exists and at all times herein mentioned there
existed a unity of interest and ownership between defendants
SHJ and SLOAT such that any individuality and separateness
between them have ceased and defendants SHJ is the alter ego of
defendant SLOAT in that Plaintiff is informed and believes and
thereon alleges SLOAT (a) commingles and uses assets and funds
of SHJ for his personal use without adequate consideration
andor recordkeeping (b) uses middotSHJmiddot as a mere shell
instrumentality and conduit to carryon his personal business
and exercises complete control anddominance over SHJ to suchmiddotan
extent that any individuality and separateness between SHJ and
SLOAT does not and at allmiddot relevant times herein mentioned did
not exist and (c) fails to adhere to and disregards corporate
governance recordkeeping and formalities obligations
10 Plaintiffs are ignorant of the true names and
capacities of the defendants sued herein as DOES 1-50
inclusive and therefore sues these defendants by such
fictitious names Plaintiffs will amend the complaint to allege
their true names and capacities when ascertained Plaintiffs are
informed and believes and thereon alleges that each of the
fictitious named defendants are responsible in some manner for
the occurrences herein alleged and that Plaintiffs losses are
herein alleged were proximately caused by such negligent andor
wrongful conduct
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
11 On or about January 1 2000 SMlRA became an employee
of SHJ As an employee Plaintiffs responsibilities included
Complaint for Damages-3
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registering SHJ as a lobbying firm compiling and submitting the
registration for SHJ lobbyists coordinating the r~gistration of
SHJ clients as lobbyist employers compiling and filing
quarterly lobbying activities and payment disclosure reports
and coordinating and filing out the quarterly lobbying employer
reports Further Plaintiff was responsible for assuring that
SHJ was in compliance with the PRA
12 Defendants regularly hosted elaborate fundraisers at
SLOATs mansion on the exclusive Crocker Road in Sacramento
California in the SHJ offices and at a local wine bar where
Defendants have a wine locker stocked with thousands of dollars
of rare wines The elaborate events were almost exclusively
limited to Defendants clients and contributions were made to
the candidates by both the Defendants clients and Defendants
13 SLOAT acting as the owner ofSHJ and at his sole
discretion chose which candidates and-elected officials
Defendants would host fundraisers for Defendant would consider
several factors when identifying which candidates and elected
officials he would host events and make contributions to If an
elected official was a member of a committee that would hear
bills sponsored by supported by or opposed by Defendants
clients would make contributions to the elected officials If an
elected official were in a special position of power such as
Senate and Assembly leadership posts or if an elected official
was just considered a friend of the firm SLOAT would host a
fundraiser where Defendants as well as Defendants clients would
make a contribution to the elected official Occasionally
elected officials would even ask SLOAT to host events and would
solicit contributions from Defendants and Defendants clients
14 The fundraisers were always attended by SHJs clients
and the candidates received campaign contributions in exchange
complaint for Damages-4
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for attending the fundraisers In many cases SLOAT was meeting
the candidates for the very first time at the hosted fundraiser
15 Once SLOAT decided to host a fundraiser SMIRA was
directed to reach out to the elected official or candidate to
coordinate schedules arrange logistics and establish an
understanding as to how much money the candidate or elected
official could expect to receive by attending the fundraiser A
typical evening at Defendants mansion would result in between
$10000 and $50000 for an elected official
16 Defendants would pay SMIRA to reach out to
Defendants clients to notify the clients of the event and tell
the client how much the client is expected to contribute to the
elected official Defendants had a static list of approximately
30 clients that Plaintiff was directed to invitetomiddotevery
fundraiser hosted by Defendants This list was a partial list of
SJH clients who were told on multiple occasions by Defendants
that Defendants would host private fundraisers for candidates
and the clients were expected to contribute and attend each
event In exchange SJH clients were promised exclusive access
to the Governor legislators or candidates
17 Defendants were very clear with SMlRA that she was
only to invite clients on the list because SLOAT said they were
his go to clients admiddot their campaign contribution budgets were
actually his to distribute at his discretion Plaintiff is
informed and believes and thereon alleges that the clients on
the list were the clients SLOAT Saw as unsophisticated and
clients who did not ask why they were making contributions to
the candidates The more sophisticated clients who required
background or some rationale as to why Defendant was asking them
to contribute were only rarely invited
complaint for Damages-S
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18 Once the attending clients were determined SMlRA
would then reach out to the elected officials representative to
provide a list of all clients who would be attending the event
as well as how much each client would be contributing Plaintiff
would then send invitations to the fundraiser to the designated
list of clients Of the hundreds of invitations sent to
candidates since early 2000 none met the current disclosure and
notification laws set forth by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) regulations
19 At these fundraisers SMlRA would hire a caterer
develop a menu sample the caterers cooking purchase cases of
expensive wine and alcohol purchase decorations and spend
hours at the mansion prior to the event making sure the details
of the event were all in order Plaintiff would then attend the
fundraiser as an employee to help manage the caterers act as a
hostess to the clients and the candidates
20 After the eventmiddot SMIR~ would coordinate the clean-upmiddot
of the event make sure staff was paid or invoices were
submitted would follow up with Defendants clients to make sure
campaign contribution checks were delivered to the elected
officials representative Plaintiff would spend between 10-15
hours at each fundraising event at a cost to Defendants of
approximately $1000
21 At each fundraiser Defendants would spend between
$1000 and $2000 on expensive bottles of wine for the events
In addition Defendants would expense decorations flowers
imported cigars and high-end cognac scotched and whiskeys
These expenses were all paid for with SHJ funds
22 Defendants would never charge a rental fee to the
elected officials campaign for the cost of hosting the event at
SLOATs mansion
Complaint for Damages-6
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23 The expenses associated with hosting the fundraiser
are considered non-monetary campaign contributions Neither
Defendants nor the elected officials would declare the nonshy
monetary contributions to the FPPC andor the Secretary of
State
24 On numerous occasions SMlRA notified Defendants of
her understanding that providing thousands of dollars in wine
and alcohol expensive cigars paying for catering and rentals
utilizing her time as a SHJ employee as well as providing
SLOATs personal residence without charging arental fee were
all illegal non-monetary campaign contributions
25 Due to her growipg concerns regarding the likely
impropriety being committed by Defendants Plaintiff solicited
and received several legal opinions from Legal Counsel for
Defendants regarding the illegality of the non-monetary campaign
contributions Defendants were making
26 Legal Counsel confirmed the impropriety of the nonshy
monetary campaign contributions
27 SMlRA in light of her investigation and research
opined that under the PRA SLOAT and SHJ could not make any
campaign contributions either monetary or non-monetary
Further SMlRA contended that DefendaIlts must charge a rental
fee to the client for some portion of the mortgage on his
mansion because as the sole owner of a lobbying firm he could
not provide a free venue for a fundraiser By not charging a
rental fee defendants were making a non-monetary contribution
to an elected official
28 Plaintiff also communicated on several occasions
directly to Defehdant that Defendants could not use SHJ paid
employees to arrange staff and support the fundraising
activities Defendants paid employees time results in a non-
Complaint for Damages-7
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
elected officials including but not limited to 11 Senators 26
Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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paid millions of dollars by Fortune 500 energyutility and
insurance companies SHJ clients have contributed millions of
dollars of campaign contributions to candidates and elected
officials
9 There exists and at all times herein mentioned there
existed a unity of interest and ownership between defendants
SHJ and SLOAT such that any individuality and separateness
between them have ceased and defendants SHJ is the alter ego of
defendant SLOAT in that Plaintiff is informed and believes and
thereon alleges SLOAT (a) commingles and uses assets and funds
of SHJ for his personal use without adequate consideration
andor recordkeeping (b) uses middotSHJmiddot as a mere shell
instrumentality and conduit to carryon his personal business
and exercises complete control anddominance over SHJ to suchmiddotan
extent that any individuality and separateness between SHJ and
SLOAT does not and at allmiddot relevant times herein mentioned did
not exist and (c) fails to adhere to and disregards corporate
governance recordkeeping and formalities obligations
10 Plaintiffs are ignorant of the true names and
capacities of the defendants sued herein as DOES 1-50
inclusive and therefore sues these defendants by such
fictitious names Plaintiffs will amend the complaint to allege
their true names and capacities when ascertained Plaintiffs are
informed and believes and thereon alleges that each of the
fictitious named defendants are responsible in some manner for
the occurrences herein alleged and that Plaintiffs losses are
herein alleged were proximately caused by such negligent andor
wrongful conduct
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
11 On or about January 1 2000 SMlRA became an employee
of SHJ As an employee Plaintiffs responsibilities included
Complaint for Damages-3
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registering SHJ as a lobbying firm compiling and submitting the
registration for SHJ lobbyists coordinating the r~gistration of
SHJ clients as lobbyist employers compiling and filing
quarterly lobbying activities and payment disclosure reports
and coordinating and filing out the quarterly lobbying employer
reports Further Plaintiff was responsible for assuring that
SHJ was in compliance with the PRA
12 Defendants regularly hosted elaborate fundraisers at
SLOATs mansion on the exclusive Crocker Road in Sacramento
California in the SHJ offices and at a local wine bar where
Defendants have a wine locker stocked with thousands of dollars
of rare wines The elaborate events were almost exclusively
limited to Defendants clients and contributions were made to
the candidates by both the Defendants clients and Defendants
13 SLOAT acting as the owner ofSHJ and at his sole
discretion chose which candidates and-elected officials
Defendants would host fundraisers for Defendant would consider
several factors when identifying which candidates and elected
officials he would host events and make contributions to If an
elected official was a member of a committee that would hear
bills sponsored by supported by or opposed by Defendants
clients would make contributions to the elected officials If an
elected official were in a special position of power such as
Senate and Assembly leadership posts or if an elected official
was just considered a friend of the firm SLOAT would host a
fundraiser where Defendants as well as Defendants clients would
make a contribution to the elected official Occasionally
elected officials would even ask SLOAT to host events and would
solicit contributions from Defendants and Defendants clients
14 The fundraisers were always attended by SHJs clients
and the candidates received campaign contributions in exchange
complaint for Damages-4
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for attending the fundraisers In many cases SLOAT was meeting
the candidates for the very first time at the hosted fundraiser
15 Once SLOAT decided to host a fundraiser SMIRA was
directed to reach out to the elected official or candidate to
coordinate schedules arrange logistics and establish an
understanding as to how much money the candidate or elected
official could expect to receive by attending the fundraiser A
typical evening at Defendants mansion would result in between
$10000 and $50000 for an elected official
16 Defendants would pay SMIRA to reach out to
Defendants clients to notify the clients of the event and tell
the client how much the client is expected to contribute to the
elected official Defendants had a static list of approximately
30 clients that Plaintiff was directed to invitetomiddotevery
fundraiser hosted by Defendants This list was a partial list of
SJH clients who were told on multiple occasions by Defendants
that Defendants would host private fundraisers for candidates
and the clients were expected to contribute and attend each
event In exchange SJH clients were promised exclusive access
to the Governor legislators or candidates
17 Defendants were very clear with SMlRA that she was
only to invite clients on the list because SLOAT said they were
his go to clients admiddot their campaign contribution budgets were
actually his to distribute at his discretion Plaintiff is
informed and believes and thereon alleges that the clients on
the list were the clients SLOAT Saw as unsophisticated and
clients who did not ask why they were making contributions to
the candidates The more sophisticated clients who required
background or some rationale as to why Defendant was asking them
to contribute were only rarely invited
complaint for Damages-S
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18 Once the attending clients were determined SMlRA
would then reach out to the elected officials representative to
provide a list of all clients who would be attending the event
as well as how much each client would be contributing Plaintiff
would then send invitations to the fundraiser to the designated
list of clients Of the hundreds of invitations sent to
candidates since early 2000 none met the current disclosure and
notification laws set forth by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) regulations
19 At these fundraisers SMlRA would hire a caterer
develop a menu sample the caterers cooking purchase cases of
expensive wine and alcohol purchase decorations and spend
hours at the mansion prior to the event making sure the details
of the event were all in order Plaintiff would then attend the
fundraiser as an employee to help manage the caterers act as a
hostess to the clients and the candidates
20 After the eventmiddot SMIR~ would coordinate the clean-upmiddot
of the event make sure staff was paid or invoices were
submitted would follow up with Defendants clients to make sure
campaign contribution checks were delivered to the elected
officials representative Plaintiff would spend between 10-15
hours at each fundraising event at a cost to Defendants of
approximately $1000
21 At each fundraiser Defendants would spend between
$1000 and $2000 on expensive bottles of wine for the events
In addition Defendants would expense decorations flowers
imported cigars and high-end cognac scotched and whiskeys
These expenses were all paid for with SHJ funds
22 Defendants would never charge a rental fee to the
elected officials campaign for the cost of hosting the event at
SLOATs mansion
Complaint for Damages-6
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23 The expenses associated with hosting the fundraiser
are considered non-monetary campaign contributions Neither
Defendants nor the elected officials would declare the nonshy
monetary contributions to the FPPC andor the Secretary of
State
24 On numerous occasions SMlRA notified Defendants of
her understanding that providing thousands of dollars in wine
and alcohol expensive cigars paying for catering and rentals
utilizing her time as a SHJ employee as well as providing
SLOATs personal residence without charging arental fee were
all illegal non-monetary campaign contributions
25 Due to her growipg concerns regarding the likely
impropriety being committed by Defendants Plaintiff solicited
and received several legal opinions from Legal Counsel for
Defendants regarding the illegality of the non-monetary campaign
contributions Defendants were making
26 Legal Counsel confirmed the impropriety of the nonshy
monetary campaign contributions
27 SMlRA in light of her investigation and research
opined that under the PRA SLOAT and SHJ could not make any
campaign contributions either monetary or non-monetary
Further SMlRA contended that DefendaIlts must charge a rental
fee to the client for some portion of the mortgage on his
mansion because as the sole owner of a lobbying firm he could
not provide a free venue for a fundraiser By not charging a
rental fee defendants were making a non-monetary contribution
to an elected official
28 Plaintiff also communicated on several occasions
directly to Defehdant that Defendants could not use SHJ paid
employees to arrange staff and support the fundraising
activities Defendants paid employees time results in a non-
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
Complaint for Damages-8
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
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Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
Complaint for Damages-9
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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registering SHJ as a lobbying firm compiling and submitting the
registration for SHJ lobbyists coordinating the r~gistration of
SHJ clients as lobbyist employers compiling and filing
quarterly lobbying activities and payment disclosure reports
and coordinating and filing out the quarterly lobbying employer
reports Further Plaintiff was responsible for assuring that
SHJ was in compliance with the PRA
12 Defendants regularly hosted elaborate fundraisers at
SLOATs mansion on the exclusive Crocker Road in Sacramento
California in the SHJ offices and at a local wine bar where
Defendants have a wine locker stocked with thousands of dollars
of rare wines The elaborate events were almost exclusively
limited to Defendants clients and contributions were made to
the candidates by both the Defendants clients and Defendants
13 SLOAT acting as the owner ofSHJ and at his sole
discretion chose which candidates and-elected officials
Defendants would host fundraisers for Defendant would consider
several factors when identifying which candidates and elected
officials he would host events and make contributions to If an
elected official was a member of a committee that would hear
bills sponsored by supported by or opposed by Defendants
clients would make contributions to the elected officials If an
elected official were in a special position of power such as
Senate and Assembly leadership posts or if an elected official
was just considered a friend of the firm SLOAT would host a
fundraiser where Defendants as well as Defendants clients would
make a contribution to the elected official Occasionally
elected officials would even ask SLOAT to host events and would
solicit contributions from Defendants and Defendants clients
14 The fundraisers were always attended by SHJs clients
and the candidates received campaign contributions in exchange
complaint for Damages-4
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for attending the fundraisers In many cases SLOAT was meeting
the candidates for the very first time at the hosted fundraiser
15 Once SLOAT decided to host a fundraiser SMIRA was
directed to reach out to the elected official or candidate to
coordinate schedules arrange logistics and establish an
understanding as to how much money the candidate or elected
official could expect to receive by attending the fundraiser A
typical evening at Defendants mansion would result in between
$10000 and $50000 for an elected official
16 Defendants would pay SMIRA to reach out to
Defendants clients to notify the clients of the event and tell
the client how much the client is expected to contribute to the
elected official Defendants had a static list of approximately
30 clients that Plaintiff was directed to invitetomiddotevery
fundraiser hosted by Defendants This list was a partial list of
SJH clients who were told on multiple occasions by Defendants
that Defendants would host private fundraisers for candidates
and the clients were expected to contribute and attend each
event In exchange SJH clients were promised exclusive access
to the Governor legislators or candidates
17 Defendants were very clear with SMlRA that she was
only to invite clients on the list because SLOAT said they were
his go to clients admiddot their campaign contribution budgets were
actually his to distribute at his discretion Plaintiff is
informed and believes and thereon alleges that the clients on
the list were the clients SLOAT Saw as unsophisticated and
clients who did not ask why they were making contributions to
the candidates The more sophisticated clients who required
background or some rationale as to why Defendant was asking them
to contribute were only rarely invited
complaint for Damages-S
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18 Once the attending clients were determined SMlRA
would then reach out to the elected officials representative to
provide a list of all clients who would be attending the event
as well as how much each client would be contributing Plaintiff
would then send invitations to the fundraiser to the designated
list of clients Of the hundreds of invitations sent to
candidates since early 2000 none met the current disclosure and
notification laws set forth by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) regulations
19 At these fundraisers SMlRA would hire a caterer
develop a menu sample the caterers cooking purchase cases of
expensive wine and alcohol purchase decorations and spend
hours at the mansion prior to the event making sure the details
of the event were all in order Plaintiff would then attend the
fundraiser as an employee to help manage the caterers act as a
hostess to the clients and the candidates
20 After the eventmiddot SMIR~ would coordinate the clean-upmiddot
of the event make sure staff was paid or invoices were
submitted would follow up with Defendants clients to make sure
campaign contribution checks were delivered to the elected
officials representative Plaintiff would spend between 10-15
hours at each fundraising event at a cost to Defendants of
approximately $1000
21 At each fundraiser Defendants would spend between
$1000 and $2000 on expensive bottles of wine for the events
In addition Defendants would expense decorations flowers
imported cigars and high-end cognac scotched and whiskeys
These expenses were all paid for with SHJ funds
22 Defendants would never charge a rental fee to the
elected officials campaign for the cost of hosting the event at
SLOATs mansion
Complaint for Damages-6
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23 The expenses associated with hosting the fundraiser
are considered non-monetary campaign contributions Neither
Defendants nor the elected officials would declare the nonshy
monetary contributions to the FPPC andor the Secretary of
State
24 On numerous occasions SMlRA notified Defendants of
her understanding that providing thousands of dollars in wine
and alcohol expensive cigars paying for catering and rentals
utilizing her time as a SHJ employee as well as providing
SLOATs personal residence without charging arental fee were
all illegal non-monetary campaign contributions
25 Due to her growipg concerns regarding the likely
impropriety being committed by Defendants Plaintiff solicited
and received several legal opinions from Legal Counsel for
Defendants regarding the illegality of the non-monetary campaign
contributions Defendants were making
26 Legal Counsel confirmed the impropriety of the nonshy
monetary campaign contributions
27 SMlRA in light of her investigation and research
opined that under the PRA SLOAT and SHJ could not make any
campaign contributions either monetary or non-monetary
Further SMlRA contended that DefendaIlts must charge a rental
fee to the client for some portion of the mortgage on his
mansion because as the sole owner of a lobbying firm he could
not provide a free venue for a fundraiser By not charging a
rental fee defendants were making a non-monetary contribution
to an elected official
28 Plaintiff also communicated on several occasions
directly to Defehdant that Defendants could not use SHJ paid
employees to arrange staff and support the fundraising
activities Defendants paid employees time results in a non-
Complaint for Damages-7
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
Complaint for Damages-8
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
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Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
Complaint for Damages-9
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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for attending the fundraisers In many cases SLOAT was meeting
the candidates for the very first time at the hosted fundraiser
15 Once SLOAT decided to host a fundraiser SMIRA was
directed to reach out to the elected official or candidate to
coordinate schedules arrange logistics and establish an
understanding as to how much money the candidate or elected
official could expect to receive by attending the fundraiser A
typical evening at Defendants mansion would result in between
$10000 and $50000 for an elected official
16 Defendants would pay SMIRA to reach out to
Defendants clients to notify the clients of the event and tell
the client how much the client is expected to contribute to the
elected official Defendants had a static list of approximately
30 clients that Plaintiff was directed to invitetomiddotevery
fundraiser hosted by Defendants This list was a partial list of
SJH clients who were told on multiple occasions by Defendants
that Defendants would host private fundraisers for candidates
and the clients were expected to contribute and attend each
event In exchange SJH clients were promised exclusive access
to the Governor legislators or candidates
17 Defendants were very clear with SMlRA that she was
only to invite clients on the list because SLOAT said they were
his go to clients admiddot their campaign contribution budgets were
actually his to distribute at his discretion Plaintiff is
informed and believes and thereon alleges that the clients on
the list were the clients SLOAT Saw as unsophisticated and
clients who did not ask why they were making contributions to
the candidates The more sophisticated clients who required
background or some rationale as to why Defendant was asking them
to contribute were only rarely invited
complaint for Damages-S
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18 Once the attending clients were determined SMlRA
would then reach out to the elected officials representative to
provide a list of all clients who would be attending the event
as well as how much each client would be contributing Plaintiff
would then send invitations to the fundraiser to the designated
list of clients Of the hundreds of invitations sent to
candidates since early 2000 none met the current disclosure and
notification laws set forth by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) regulations
19 At these fundraisers SMlRA would hire a caterer
develop a menu sample the caterers cooking purchase cases of
expensive wine and alcohol purchase decorations and spend
hours at the mansion prior to the event making sure the details
of the event were all in order Plaintiff would then attend the
fundraiser as an employee to help manage the caterers act as a
hostess to the clients and the candidates
20 After the eventmiddot SMIR~ would coordinate the clean-upmiddot
of the event make sure staff was paid or invoices were
submitted would follow up with Defendants clients to make sure
campaign contribution checks were delivered to the elected
officials representative Plaintiff would spend between 10-15
hours at each fundraising event at a cost to Defendants of
approximately $1000
21 At each fundraiser Defendants would spend between
$1000 and $2000 on expensive bottles of wine for the events
In addition Defendants would expense decorations flowers
imported cigars and high-end cognac scotched and whiskeys
These expenses were all paid for with SHJ funds
22 Defendants would never charge a rental fee to the
elected officials campaign for the cost of hosting the event at
SLOATs mansion
Complaint for Damages-6
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23 The expenses associated with hosting the fundraiser
are considered non-monetary campaign contributions Neither
Defendants nor the elected officials would declare the nonshy
monetary contributions to the FPPC andor the Secretary of
State
24 On numerous occasions SMlRA notified Defendants of
her understanding that providing thousands of dollars in wine
and alcohol expensive cigars paying for catering and rentals
utilizing her time as a SHJ employee as well as providing
SLOATs personal residence without charging arental fee were
all illegal non-monetary campaign contributions
25 Due to her growipg concerns regarding the likely
impropriety being committed by Defendants Plaintiff solicited
and received several legal opinions from Legal Counsel for
Defendants regarding the illegality of the non-monetary campaign
contributions Defendants were making
26 Legal Counsel confirmed the impropriety of the nonshy
monetary campaign contributions
27 SMlRA in light of her investigation and research
opined that under the PRA SLOAT and SHJ could not make any
campaign contributions either monetary or non-monetary
Further SMlRA contended that DefendaIlts must charge a rental
fee to the client for some portion of the mortgage on his
mansion because as the sole owner of a lobbying firm he could
not provide a free venue for a fundraiser By not charging a
rental fee defendants were making a non-monetary contribution
to an elected official
28 Plaintiff also communicated on several occasions
directly to Defehdant that Defendants could not use SHJ paid
employees to arrange staff and support the fundraising
activities Defendants paid employees time results in a non-
Complaint for Damages-7
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
Complaint for Damages-8
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
elected officials including but not limited to 11 Senators 26
Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
Complaint for Damages-9
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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18 Once the attending clients were determined SMlRA
would then reach out to the elected officials representative to
provide a list of all clients who would be attending the event
as well as how much each client would be contributing Plaintiff
would then send invitations to the fundraiser to the designated
list of clients Of the hundreds of invitations sent to
candidates since early 2000 none met the current disclosure and
notification laws set forth by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) regulations
19 At these fundraisers SMlRA would hire a caterer
develop a menu sample the caterers cooking purchase cases of
expensive wine and alcohol purchase decorations and spend
hours at the mansion prior to the event making sure the details
of the event were all in order Plaintiff would then attend the
fundraiser as an employee to help manage the caterers act as a
hostess to the clients and the candidates
20 After the eventmiddot SMIR~ would coordinate the clean-upmiddot
of the event make sure staff was paid or invoices were
submitted would follow up with Defendants clients to make sure
campaign contribution checks were delivered to the elected
officials representative Plaintiff would spend between 10-15
hours at each fundraising event at a cost to Defendants of
approximately $1000
21 At each fundraiser Defendants would spend between
$1000 and $2000 on expensive bottles of wine for the events
In addition Defendants would expense decorations flowers
imported cigars and high-end cognac scotched and whiskeys
These expenses were all paid for with SHJ funds
22 Defendants would never charge a rental fee to the
elected officials campaign for the cost of hosting the event at
SLOATs mansion
Complaint for Damages-6
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23 The expenses associated with hosting the fundraiser
are considered non-monetary campaign contributions Neither
Defendants nor the elected officials would declare the nonshy
monetary contributions to the FPPC andor the Secretary of
State
24 On numerous occasions SMlRA notified Defendants of
her understanding that providing thousands of dollars in wine
and alcohol expensive cigars paying for catering and rentals
utilizing her time as a SHJ employee as well as providing
SLOATs personal residence without charging arental fee were
all illegal non-monetary campaign contributions
25 Due to her growipg concerns regarding the likely
impropriety being committed by Defendants Plaintiff solicited
and received several legal opinions from Legal Counsel for
Defendants regarding the illegality of the non-monetary campaign
contributions Defendants were making
26 Legal Counsel confirmed the impropriety of the nonshy
monetary campaign contributions
27 SMlRA in light of her investigation and research
opined that under the PRA SLOAT and SHJ could not make any
campaign contributions either monetary or non-monetary
Further SMlRA contended that DefendaIlts must charge a rental
fee to the client for some portion of the mortgage on his
mansion because as the sole owner of a lobbying firm he could
not provide a free venue for a fundraiser By not charging a
rental fee defendants were making a non-monetary contribution
to an elected official
28 Plaintiff also communicated on several occasions
directly to Defehdant that Defendants could not use SHJ paid
employees to arrange staff and support the fundraising
activities Defendants paid employees time results in a non-
Complaint for Damages-7
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
elected officials including but not limited to 11 Senators 26
Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
Complaint for Damages-9
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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23 The expenses associated with hosting the fundraiser
are considered non-monetary campaign contributions Neither
Defendants nor the elected officials would declare the nonshy
monetary contributions to the FPPC andor the Secretary of
State
24 On numerous occasions SMlRA notified Defendants of
her understanding that providing thousands of dollars in wine
and alcohol expensive cigars paying for catering and rentals
utilizing her time as a SHJ employee as well as providing
SLOATs personal residence without charging arental fee were
all illegal non-monetary campaign contributions
25 Due to her growipg concerns regarding the likely
impropriety being committed by Defendants Plaintiff solicited
and received several legal opinions from Legal Counsel for
Defendants regarding the illegality of the non-monetary campaign
contributions Defendants were making
26 Legal Counsel confirmed the impropriety of the nonshy
monetary campaign contributions
27 SMlRA in light of her investigation and research
opined that under the PRA SLOAT and SHJ could not make any
campaign contributions either monetary or non-monetary
Further SMlRA contended that DefendaIlts must charge a rental
fee to the client for some portion of the mortgage on his
mansion because as the sole owner of a lobbying firm he could
not provide a free venue for a fundraiser By not charging a
rental fee defendants were making a non-monetary contribution
to an elected official
28 Plaintiff also communicated on several occasions
directly to Defehdant that Defendants could not use SHJ paid
employees to arrange staff and support the fundraising
activities Defendants paid employees time results in a non-
Complaint for Damages-7
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
Complaint for Damages-8
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
elected officials including but not limited to 11 Senators 26
Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
Complaint for Damages-9
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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monetary contribution to the elected official SMIRA further
warned that the wine alcohol catering cigars or any other
expense associated with the private fundraisers would constitute
a violation of the PRA
29 Any expenses associated with the fundraising events
were paid for either with the SHJs credit card or with SLOATs
credit card SLOATs personal credit card was and is completely
paid for directly from SHJs accounts
30 After being fully briefed by SMIRA on multiple
occasions Defendants continued to host middotfundraisersmiddotand give
illegal in-kind contributions Plaintiff repeatedly
communicated how uneomfortable she was in participating in the
illegal campaign contributions In response Defendant bluntly
stated that it was part of her job and that if she could not
perfor)11 her job the he would find someone else who could
31 Over the course of several years SMIRA repeatedly
voiced her concerns about the illegal contributions prior to
each fundraising event at SLOATs private residence On every
occasion she was reprimanded by Defendant and was finally
directed by Defendant to never talk to him again about her
concerns On one occasionDefendant was so upset that he did
not talk to Plaintiff for over a week
32 In or about 2010 SMIRA notified Defendants that shemiddot
was very concerned about utilizing SHJ corporate credit cards to
make all the purchases that amounted to illegal campaign
contributions Rather than heed her warning SLOATtold
Plaintiff that she would no longer use the company credit card
for the purchases but that she would now use her own credit card
for the expenses and then she would be reimbursed by SHJ
Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that
this was Defendants attempt to hide expenses from any future
Complaint for Damages-8
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
elected officials including but not limited to 11 Senators 26
Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
Complaint for Damages-9
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
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audits as well as punishment for her repeated warnings In so
doing Defendants were making it more difficult for Plaintiff to
do her job
33 subsequently SMIRA conducted more inquiries and
investigation regarding Defendants illegal contributions After
Plaintiff notified Defendant of what she found SLOAT would not
speak to SMIRA for several days and would occasionally ask other
lobbyists in the office if theyneeded to hire another support
person
34 In or aboutmiddot 2010 after receiving continued
complaints from SMIRA SLOAT directed SMIRA to start asking
candidates to pay formiddot catering and use the candidates campaign
account to make deposits for catering However Defendantsmiddotmiddot
continued to use Plaintiffs time as an employeemiddot of SHJ provide
thousands of dollars of wine cigars scotch r and other
alcoholic beverages~ asmiddotwell as utilize SLOATs personal
residence to host the fundraisers without charging a rental fee
While Defendants changed some of their activities they
continued to illegally make in-kind c6ntributions
35 Since 2000 to the present demiddotfendants have hosted
hundreds of fundraisingeventsin which Defendantsmiddot illegally
contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to dozens of
elected officials including but not limited to 11 Senators 26
Assembly menwomen and various other high ranking public
officials and representatives
36 In addition to being forced to participate in the
delivery of illegal campaign contributions Plaintiff was
constantly expected to arrange illegal gifts as an agent of
Defendants
37 Defendants have season tickets to the Sacramento
Kings professional basketball team These tickets currently
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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include two floor seats and in years past as many as six lower
level or floor seat season tickets In addition Defendants have
a VIP parking pass for each home game Defendants pay for the
season tickets with SHJ funds Each individual floor seat ticket
has or had a face value of well over $300
38 From 2000 to the present Defendants often gave the
floor seat tickets to Senators Assembly Members legislative
staff or administrative staff as gifts SLOAT would personally
offer Senators Assembly Members legislative staff or
administrative staff the tickets Defendants gave away illegal
tickets on such a regular basisthat some Legislators~
Legislative staff and Administrative staff eventually contacted
SMIRA and Defendants to request Kings tickets
39 For every Kings game that a Senator Assembly Member
legislative staffer or member of the Governors staff attended
SMIRA was expected to perform all or some of the following
actions contact the recipient of the Kings tickets to confirm
their attendance at the game make arrangements to deliver the
tickets if the recipient was not driving to the game with
defendant and schedule attendance at future games with the
recipients
40 SMIRA was specifically directed by defendants to
never notify the recipients of tickets that attendance would
constitute a gift nor put it on his calendar for a written
record Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with participating in
this process If she voiced her concerns she was frozen out
by SLOAT and left to feel as though her job was in jeopardy
Eventually Defendant asked other staff of SHJ to deliver the
tickets to the Legislators and staff
41 SMIRA advised Defendants that providing the tickets
to Senators Assembly members legislative staff or staff to the
Complaint for Damages-10
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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Governor was a violation of the laws limiting gifts between a
lobbyist or lobbying firm and a Legislator
42 Defendants have represented an Indian Tribe which
owns a casino as well as one of the top ranked golf courses in
Northern California
43 From 2008 to present Defendants hosted countless
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff on
expensive golf outings on the Tribes golf course
44 On most occasions SLOAT or another high level SHJ
employee (Employee) would offer to take the legislator
legislative staff or administrative staff golfing at the award
winning golf course If accepted Defendant or Employee would
then have SMIRA make the necessary arrangements Plaintiff was
expected to do some or all of the following Contact the golf
course and speak directly to the head golf professional to
notify them that a dignitary was coming out schedule the tee
time (schedule the delivery of the gift) confirm the datetime
of the tee time with the recipient of the gift make any special
arrangements with the tribe as directed by Defendant of Employee
(some legislators wanted discounted rooms at the hotelcasino)
Employee or Defendant would then pay-for the entire foursomes
round on Defendants credit cards so there was no expense paid
by the gift recipient
45 Defendants and Employee provided so many free rounds
of golf that eventually gift recipients began contacting
Defendants offices directly and requesting tee times Each
round of golf is valued at well over the $10 gift allowed by the
PRA Many Legislators or candidates received golf as a gift on
multiple occasions
46 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledger as a ftbusiness expense for tax
Complaint for Damages-ll
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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purposes plaintiff was specifically directed by SLOAT to never
record who was in attendance
47 In addition to golf the Casino offers regular music
concerts as part of their entertainment offerings at the hotel
and casino Defendant provided concert tickets free of charge
to numerous legislators legislative staff and administrative
staff
48 SLOAT would regularly check the Casino Resorts
website for a listing of upcoming events If Defendant saw
events he thought a legislator legislative staff member or
administrative staff member would be interested in he would
either contact them directly or direct an employee to contact
them directly and offer free tickets
49 Once contacted by SLOAT SMIRA was expected to make
all arrangements including confirming attendance with the
recipient providing directions to the venue purchasing the
concert tickets on the Defendants credit card providing
confirmation to the recipient that the tickets would be held at
will-call for them
50 SMlRA was expected to process the payments and record
them in SHJs QuickBooks ledgers as a business expense for tax
purposes Defendant specifically directed SMlRA to never record
who was in attendance
51 On or about October 7 2010 to October 28 2010
Defendants were provided free tickets to all of th~ San
Francisco Giants home playoff games by one of Defendants
clients Defendants then provided every ticket to Senators
Assembly members and legislative staff
52 SMlRA was directed by SLOAT to confirm directly with
the legislator or legislative staff of their intention to
attend coordinate the delivery of the tickets to the gift
Complaint for Damages-12
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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recipient and report to Def~ndant the recipient of the gifts
Plaintiff was so uncomfortable with this illegal activity that
she approached the SHJ employee (SHJ Employee) responsible for
the client account to state her concerns SHJ Employee agreed
with SMIRA and asked that Plaintiff not have the client send any
tickets to the SHJ offices but rather mail or overnight the
tickets directly to the recipient of the gift
53 SMIRA repeatedly objected to the arranging
coordination and delivery of the gift as illegal Defendant
reprimanded Plaintiff and stated that client could give a gift
to a reportable individual Plaiptiff stated that it was the act
of SHJ and a Lobbyist arranging confirming attendance and
facilitating the delivery of the gift that was illegal in~hisshy
case Defendant told Plaintiff itmiddot was none of her business and
that she better do as she was told
54 Defendants have represented the San Francisco 4gers
(4gers) The 4gers retained Defendants to assist with issues
regarding the development of a new stadium Defendants suggested
to the 4gers that hosting legislators legislative staff and
administrative staff at games was a great way to build a
relationship with influential political figures The 4gers
agreed to provide tickets to SHJ for SLOAT to dispense as he saw
fit The 4gers refused to provide the tickets complimentary so
Defendant told the 4gers that Defendants would take any elected
officials credit card information and then pass it on to the
4gers front office personnel
55 Defendants would personally invite legislators
legislative staff and administrative staff to 4gers home games
and home playoff games Once Defendants extended the invitation
SMIRA was expected to make all arrangements including
confirming attendance with the recipient providing directions
Complaint for Damages-13
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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to the venue providing confirmation to the recipient that the
tickets would- be held at will-call for them or even make
arrangements for the delivery of the tickets
56 SMIRA was to obtain credit card information from the
recipient of the gift then pass the credit card information on
to the 4gers to complete the purchase of the tickets Defendant
stated to Plaintiff that she must feel happy that SHJ wasnt
actually paying for the tickets Plaintiff took this as a direct
jab at her constant complaints about defendants illegal actions
pertaining to gifts Defendant even mentioned to Plaintiff that
while he was uncomfortable charging legislators for tickets he
did likemiddotthat fact that if anyone ever asked he could deny that
he had anything to do with the tickets
57 SMIRAmiddotwasmiddoteven directed by SLOAT to attend one home
playoff game on or around January 22 2012 between the 4gers
and the New York Giants Defendant wanted Plaintiff to attend
because he wanted to make su=e one of the attendees Senator A
as completely taken care of SLOAT directed SMlRA-to make
sure Senator A had anything he needed The Defendant even
had Plaintiff make arrangements with the 4gers to get Senator
AU onto the field and into the owners suite
58 Additionallymiddot SLOAT made several political junkets to
Cuba In order to have the trips approved by the US
government Defendants described the trips as charitable
missions and artistic research trips SLOAT purchased thousands
of dollars of art while on his trips and he eventually
befriended several local Cuban artists In several occasions in
2010 and 2011 SLOAT invited and paid for the artists to travel
to his personal residence in the United States SLOAT used SHJs
money to pay for the travel The artists brought art to show and
possibly sell Defendant made arrangements for Assembly member
Complaint for Damages-14
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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A to at tend this private event in which no member of the
general public was allowed to attend
59 SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ made arrangements
with the artist to sell Assembly member A a particular piece
of art at a deep discount from the asking price Asa favor to
Defendants an agreement was made to sell Assembly member A
the art at nearly 50 below the asking price The price was not
available to any member of the general public
60 The art was delivered to the SHJs offices and
Defendant directed SMlRAto contact Assembly member A tolet
him know his art was at the office and he could come pickmiddotmiddot it up
SMlRA objected and stated that she believed the deep discount
as well as the arrangement and delive~y of the art would
constitute a violation of the PRAShe suggested that Defendant
contact Legal Counsel to get his opinion of the legality of the
situation middotDefendant became very angry and told Plaintiff to
just do your job
61 Further Defehdants regularly hosted expensive
dinners at local restaurants that reportable individuals such as
legislators legislative staff and administrative staff would
attend SLOAT acting as an agent of SHJ would formally and
informally invite these individuals for private dinners attended
by the lobbyists employedbySHJ Defendants would almost always
pay with SHJs credit card and never requested reimbursement for
a gift by the legislator The dinners were always above the
$10 gift limit for a lobbyist
62 While these dinners were regularly occurring events
they were not often planned out well in advance Many times themiddot
dinner occurred the same day the invitation was extended Once
SLOAT invited a legislator legislative staffer or
administrative staffer to dinner he would calltext SMlRA and
Complaint for Damages-1S
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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direct her to make reservationsmiddot Plaintiff was then directed to
confirm with Defendant the other lobbyists qnd the legislator
legislative staffer or administrative staffer
63 SLOAT directed SMlRA to enter the charges for the
- dinner into SHJs QuickBooks as regular business expenses for
tax purposes and Plaintiff was directed to never request
reimbursement from the attendees
64 Plaintiff notified Defendant on many occasions that
this was an illegal action and a-violation of PRA At first
Defendant told her ~if I dont report and there is no written
record and they dont-report it-then it didnt happen As
Plaintiff contiued to complain defendant eventually told her
he had enough of her complaints and he directed her to hire a
low-level personal assistant to handle the scheduling of these
dinners so he never had to hear Plaintiff complain about it
again
65 Plaintiff took this as SLOATs escalation of his
threats toward her employment in retaliation for her complaints
66 SMlRA notified Defendant of her concerns about the
illegality of making-arranging and not reporting all of the
above mentioned gifts Each time Defendant expressed great
displeasure at Plaintiff for even suggesting he was acting
illegally
67 plaintiff is informed and believes and hereby
alleges that Defendant understood_the illegality of his action
because he attended regular Ethics Training courses where the
laws regarding gifts from lobbyists or lobbying firms were
thoroughly explained
68 In addition to the illegal campaign contributions and
unlawful gifts Plaintiff was thrust into further illegal
activity by Defendant and Employee
Complaint for Damages-16
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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69 In or around 2010 an Employee of Defendant began
divorce proceedings with his then wife (UEmployees Wife)
Defendant agreed to help the Employee hide income from
Employees wife the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the
FPPC They devised a plan to defer all of Employees bontlses
until after the divorce was final Defendant agreed to hold over
$400000 in bonus payments until after the divorce was final
Defendant agreed to then release the hidden bonuses and pay
Employee in two lump sum payments Defendant also agreed to
allow Employee to utilize the company credit card to make
personal purchases and not report them on Employee1s W2 as
compensation
70 Around this time Plaintiff advised defendant that
Employees reimbursement check for Employees leased Audi A7
should be reported on Employees W2 forms as taxable income
Defendant directed Plaintiff not to report the reimbursement as
part of Employees compensation Employee utilized the compariy
credit card for extensive personal charges including clothing
home goods food wine entertainment etc all of which are
supposed to be reported to the IRS as income on Employees W2
Plaintiff briefed Defendant that these credit card charges
should be reported as income to Employee Defendant directed
Plaintiff to enter them into the SHJ books asgeneral business
expenses for SHJ and not as income to the Employee Fearing for
her job Plaintiff complied
71 Defendants concealment of Employees income from the
IRS was in addition to the already ongoing concealment of
illegal gifts not reportable as business expenses from the IRS
and FPPC These were intentional acts and Plaintiff was given
specific directives by Defendant to enter charges into the SHJ
books in such a way as to deceive the IRS and the FPPC SMlRA
complaint for Damages-17
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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and SLOAT would annually go over the books prior to SMIRA
submitting them to the SHJ accountants
72 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Plaintiff was
directed by Defendant to make illegal or purposefully neglectful
entries into the SHJ books on hundreds of occasions Each
illegal gift and all illegal campaign contributions were
reported to the IRS as business expenses
73 The conduct of Defendant caused Plaintiff to lose
sleep have severe stomach cramps lose weight suffer extreme
headaches and even lose patches of hair
74 In 2012 and a result of the extraordinary anxiety
that SMIRP_ was experiencing Plaintiff refused to continue to
participate in the above mentioned activities Consequently on
or about August 21 2012 Plaintiff received a letter from
Defendants notifying her of her immediate termination for
undisclosed reasons
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
75 This Court has jurisdiction over this entire action
because this is a civil action wherein the matter in controversy
exceeds $2500000 Venue is proper in Sacramento County
Superior Court since the principal place of business of Both
ORLEANS and SHJ is located in Sacramento County and both SMIRA
and SLOAD reside in Sacramento County
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Business and Professions Code section
17200 et seq)
76 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 75 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
77 From 2000 to the present Defendant regularly hosted
elaborate fundraisers for various elected officials at his
Complaint for Damages-18
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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mansion At these fundraisers Defendants made contributions to
elected officials by providing catering expensive wine
decorations flowers imported cigars and high-end cognac
scotches and whiskeys Further Defendants did not charge a
rental fee to the elected officials campaign for the cost of
hosting the event at SLOATs mansion nor did Defendants charge
for the costs of labor to set-up host and clean-up
fundraisers The costs of the fundraisers were all in excess of
$50000
78 By making these contributions Defendants made nonshy
monetary campaign contributions in violation of Government Code
Sections 85702 and 91005
79 From 2000 to the present Defendants provided
Sacramento Kings tickets San Francisco Giants tickets San
Francisco 4gers tickets rounds of golf and concert tickets
valued in excess of $1000 to the Governors staff Senators
Assembly members andor legislative staff Defendants further
arranged for the delivery of the tickets delivered the tickets
made scheduling arrangements and confirmed attendance all acts
performed were in violation of Government Code section 86203
80 In 2011 Defendants arranged for a 50 discount for
the price paid for a piece of art bought by a legislator a
discount not available to the general public Such act being in
violation of Government Code section 86203
81 From 2000 to the present Defendants have regularly
invited arranged scheduled and paid for meals in excess of
$1000 -all acts done were in violation of Government Code
section 86203
82 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants performed the above-mentioned acts for
the purpose of injuring Plaintiffs and other competitors
Complaint for Damages-19
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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83 Defendants continue to perform the above-mentioned
acts in violation of California Government Code sections 86203
85702 and 91005 By performing said actions Defendants are
engaging in an unlawful business practice and are therefore in
violation of sections 17200 et seq of the California Business
and Professions Code
84 As a proximate result of the above-mentioned acts of
Defendants ORLEANS has been deprived of the patronage of a
large number of its actual and potential customers at to its
damage in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of
the Court according to proof
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment against
Defendants as follow
1 For an order requiring Defendants and each of them
to show cause if any they have why they should not
be enjoined as set forth below during the pendency
of this action
2 For a temporary restraining order a preliminary
injunction and a permanent injunction all
enjoining Defendants from making campaign
contributions hosting fundraisers at Defendants
mansion residence or office making or arranging
gifts including meals tickets to events or any
other legally defined gift
3 For disgorgement of Defendants profits for the
period of liability
4 For civil penalties pursuant Business and
Professions Code section 17206
5 For treble damages
6 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
Complaint for Damages--20
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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7 For any other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Declaratory Relief)
85 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 84 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
86 By making campaign contributioristo elected
officials Defendants were in violation of Government Code
sections 85702 and 91005
87 By making arranging and delivering gifts Defendants
were in violation of Government Code section 86203
88 By arranging for a discount on a rare piece of art
not available to the general public the Defendant was in
violation of Government Code section 86203
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows
1 For a declaration that Defendants actions are in
violation of state law
2 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
(Violation of Political Reform Act of 1974)
89 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 88 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
90 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 by failing to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts of payments made and expenses
incurred in connection with activities which are reportable
including but not limited to following payments and expenses
Complaint for Damages-21
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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cash contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees
labor costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost
of catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisersi cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants ~nd San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners Defendants failure to keep detailed accounts
records bills and receipts was in violation of Government Codemiddot
section 86110
91 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of thePRAby
failing to provide all of the information required as to
activity expenses including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisersi employeesmiddotlabor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount aIld the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to provide all of the information required
as to activity expenses was in violation of Government Code
section 86110
92 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally or
negligently violation the reporting requirement of the PRA by
failing to include on invitations to candidates fundraisersor
letters attached to the invitations the statementmiddotattendance
at his event by a public official will constitute acceptance of
a reportable gift Defendants failure to include this
Complaint for Oamages-22
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3
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5
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3
4
5
6
7
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
5
10
15
20
25
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6
7
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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3
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9
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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statement on invitations was in violation of section 861123 of
the Government Code
93 From 2000 to the present Defendants intentionally
or negligently violating the reporting requirements of the PRA
by failing to provide the required information as to each
beneficlary of a reportable gift including without limitation
the following reportable gifts rental fees to host fundraisers
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisers the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a substantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners Defendants
failure to provide the required information to each beneficiary
was in violation of Government Code section 861125
94 From 2 000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including without limitation rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86113
Complaint for Damages-23
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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95 From 2000 to the present~ SHJ intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to complete and verify a periodic report which contains
a report of all activity expenses and contributions during the
reporting period including but not limited to cash
contributions rental fees to host fundraisers employees labor
costs to set up host and clean-up fundraisers the costmiddotof
catering decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and
cigars at fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets
costs of rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San
Francisco 4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine
art at a substantial discount and the costs of expensive
dinners SHJs failure to complete and verify a periodic report
was in violation of Government Code section 86114
96 From 2000 to the present SLOAT intentionally or
negligently violated reporting requirements of the PRA by
failing to file a periodic report which contains a report of all
activity expenses and contributions during the reporting period
including but not limited to cash contributions rental fees to
host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisers the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golfi costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gersi
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
Defendants failure to file a periodic report was in viOlrtion
of Government Code section 86116 I
97 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
84300 made cash contributions in amounts of one hundred dollars
Complaint for Damages-24
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
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3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
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15
20
25
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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2
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7
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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($10000) or more The exact amount and dates of these
contributions are not presently known but Plaintiff will seek
leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
98 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of section 84304 of the
Government Code made anonymous contributions to a candidate
committee or any other person totaling one hundred dollars
($10000) or more in a calendar year The exact amount and
dates of these contributions are not presently known but
Plaintiff will ask leave of court to amend this complaint when
the exact information is ascertained
99 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendant in violation of Government Code section
86203 made gifts to persons aggregating more than ten dollars
($1000)in a calendar month including but not limited to
rental fees to host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set
up host and clean-up furrdraisers the cost of catering
decorations flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners The
exact amount and dates are not presently known but Plaintiffs
will seek leave of court to amend this complaint when the exact
information is ascertained
100 Plaintiffs are informed and believe-and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 acted as an agent or intermediary in the making of gives
to persons aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a
calendar month including but not li~ited to rental fees to
Complaint for Damages-25
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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19
20
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23
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25
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28
3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
I
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
5
10
15
20
25
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
14
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
26
27
28
111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
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28
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
f
1
2
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8
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host fundraisersi employees labor costs to set up host and
clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations
flowers expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisersj
cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of
golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers
playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discount and the costs of expensive dinners
101 Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon
allege that Defendants in violation of Government Code section
86203 arranged for the making of gifts by any other person
aggregating more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month
including but not limited to rental fees to host fundraisersi
employees labor costs to set up host and clean-up
fundraisersi the cost of catering decorations flowers
expensive wine alcohol and cigars at fundraisers cost of
Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs of rounds of golf costs
of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 4gers playoff
tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a sUbstantial
discount and the costs of expensive dinners
102 Plaintiffs shall make a written request to the City
Attorney of the City of Sacramento California that he file a
civil action for damages based on the violations alleged herein
WHEREFORE Plaintiffs pray for judgment as follows
1 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
representing the value of gifts contributions and
expenditures not properly reported under the
Government Codej
2 For damages in an amount to be determined at trial
which is three times the amount of each gift
contribution and expenditure made in violation of
the Government Code
Complaint for Damages~26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
I
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
5
10
15
20
25
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
14
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
26
27
28
111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
f
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3 For payment of 50 percent of the damages recovered
to Plaintiff and payment of the remaining 50 percent
to the General Fund of the State of California
pursuant to section 91009 of the Government Code
4 For costs of suit including reasonable attorneys
fees
5 For such other and further relief as the Court made
deem appropriate
FOORTH CAOSE OF ACTION
(Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy)
103 Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 102 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
104 From January 1 2000 to August 21 2012 SMIRA was
employed by SHJ as a Managing Assistant SMIRAs
responsibilities included registering SHJ as a lobbying firm
compiling and submitting the registration for SHJ lobbyists
coordinating the registration of SHJ clients as lobbyist
employers compiling and ~filing quarterly lobbying activities
and payment disclosure reports and coordinating and filing out
the quarterly lobbying employer reports Further SMIRA was
responsible for assuring that SHJ was in compliance with the
California Political Reform Act of 1974
105 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
reporting requirements of the PRA by not keeping detailed
accounts records bills and receipts of reportable gifts ~
contributions and expenses by failing to complete verify and
file these reports
106 From early 2000 to August 21 2012 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff violate the
bull Complaint for Oamages-27
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
I
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
5
10
15
20
25
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
14
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
26
27
28
111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
f
1
2
3
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7
8
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10
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12
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28
contribution gift and expenditure limitations of the PRA by
acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift of
more than ten dollars ($1000) in a calendar month and by
arranging for the making of any such gift The gifts that
Defendants insisted Plaintiff actas agent in the making of or
arranging for the making of include cash contributions rental
fees to host fundraisers employees labor costs to set up
host and clean-up fundraisersi the cost of catering
decorations flowerse~pensivewine alcohol and cigars at
fundraisers cost of Sacramento Kings floor tickets costs o~shy
rounds of golf costs of San Francisco Giants and San Francisco
4gers playoff tickets cost of arranging sale of fine art at a
substantial discounti and the costs of expensive dinners
107 Further beginning in or around 2010 Defendants
continually proposed and insisted that Plaintiff hide and
Employees income and Defendants illegal gifts from the IRS and
the FPPC
108 In or around August 2012 Plaintiff refused to
participate in any manner in the violations of the PRA as
alleged herein and refused to participate in the illegal
concealing of income and gifts from the IRS-and the FPPCas
also alleged herein
109 The actions Defendants ordered Plaintiff to engage
in would be in violation of Government Code sections 86110
86112 861123 861125 86114 86116- 84300 84304 and 86203
the United States Internal Revenue Code and Government Code
section 83100 et seq
110 As a proximate result of Plaintiffs refusals and
conduct as set forth above in paragraph lOB Defendants
terminated Plaintiffs employment on August 21 2012
Complaint for Oamages-28
5
10
15
20
25
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
14
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
26
27
28
111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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111 As a proximate result of Defendants conduct
Plaintiff has suffered harm including lost earnings and other
employment benefits humiliation embarrassment and mental
anguish all to her damage in an amount to be established at
trial
112 In doing the acts set forth above Defendants knew
that the conduct that they would have required of Plaintiff was shy
unlawful and required Plaintiff to choose between violating the
law and losing her job Notwithstanding this knowledge
Defendants subj ect-ed Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship in
conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights by insisting Plaintiffmiddot
violate the law a1d terminating Plaintiffs employment whenshy
Plaintiff refused to do ~o and castigating Plaintiff in front
of her colleagues and co-workers This malicious and oppressive
conduct justifies and award of punitive damages in an amount
sufficient to punish Defendants and deter others from engaging
in similar conduct
WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For damages for bieach of contract according to
proof
2 For compensatory damages for lost wages benefits
and emotional distress according to proof
3 For interest on lost earnings and benefits at the
legal rate
4 For punitive damages in an amount appropriate to
punish Defendants and deter others from engaging in
similar conduct
S For costs of suit incurred and
6 For such other and further relief as the Court deems
appropriate
Complaint for Damages-29
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION
(Defamation)
113 Plaintiffs r~-allege and incorporate hereby by
reference paragraphs 1 through 112 inclusive as though fully
set forth herein
114 In or around November 2012 SLOAT spoke the
following words of and concerning SMIRA that SMIRA had
committed improprieties against Defendants including felony
theft
115 The words were heard by prospective employers and
members of the community
116 These words were slanderous per se as they accuse
Plaintiff of committing the crime of theft
117 The words uttered were a false statement because
Plaintiff has not at any point committed the crime of theft
against Defendants
118 As a result of the above-described words Plaintiff
has suffered general damages to her reputation
119 As a further proximate result of the slanderous and
untrue statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered injury to her
business trade profession and occupation according to proof
120 AS a further proximate case of the slanderous
statements of SLOAT Plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional
and physical distress according to proof at trial
121 The above-described words were spoken by SLOAT with
malice oppression and fraud in that SLOAT knew that SMIRA haa
not committed theft yet he made the defamatory statements in his
effort to punish Plaintiff and to silence her from revealing the
violations of the PRA as alleged herein An award of exemplary
and punitive damages is appropriate
complaint for Damages-30
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for judgment against
Defendants as follows
1 For general damages according to proof
2 For special damages according to proof i
3 bull For punitive damages
4 For costs of suit incurred herein
5 For such other and further relief that the Court
deems appropriate
DATED December 24 2013
Je s~r Ortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiffs hereby demand and request a trial by jury in
this matter
Dated December 24 2013
J~ea~ Law
Jeortiz Attorneys for Plaintiffs Rhonda Smira and Orleans Consulting Group LLC
Complaint for Damages-31
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