Guerra v. County of Alameda

Filed 3/30/06 Guerra v. County of Alameda CA1/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

Gloria Guerra filed a libel and slander action against County of Alameda (County) and a social worker, Manuel Sanchez, for statements allegedly made about her during the course of juvenile dependency proceedings involving her three children. Guerra appeals from a summary judgment in favor of the County and Sanchez, claiming that the disputed statements were not privileged, that the respondents do not enjoy statutory immunity, that she established the requisite elements of her slander and libel causes of action, and that the trial court erred in denying her motion to compel. We affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

Guerra is the mother of three children. In December 1990, law enforcement officials searched Guerra's home, arrested her, and took her three children into protective custody. The County filed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petition on behalf of Guerra's children, alleging that they came within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court because the minors had suffered, or there was substantial risk the minors would suffer, serious physical harm or illness. (See Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (b).) The petition also sought juvenile court jurisdiction on the basis of an allegation that Guerra had subjected the minors to acts of cruelty. (See Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (i).) The juvenile court asserted jurisdiction over the children, established a reunification plan, and ultimately placed them permanently in foster care with Guerra's mother.

The children remained dependents of the court after 1990. The County continued to monitor their care, conducting visits and preparing semi-annual status review reports. In 1994, the County assigned respondent Manuel Sanchez the responsibility of monitoring Guerra's children. On June 25, 2003, Sanchez filed one of the periodically required status review reports concerning the children. Following normal procedures, the report described the children's progress and included a copy of the Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petition that had been originally filed in 1990.

The original 1990 petition set forth four factual allegations supporting the contention that the children had suffered, or there was substantial risk the children would suffer, serious physical harm or illness. The original petition also set forth one additional allegation supporting the contention the children had been subject to acts of cruelty by Guerra. Because the June 25, 2003, status review report included a copy of the original Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petition, the five allegations from the 1990 petition necessarily appeared in the status review report.

A copy of the June 25, 2003, status review report was placed in the Child Protective Services file, and a copy was sent to Guerra. Other than these copies and the original filed in the juvenile court, no other copies of the June 25, 2003, report were prepared or disseminated by the County or Sanchez. By statute, the juvenile court case file is confidential. (See generally Welf. & Inst. Code, § 827.) In the absence of a court order authorizing access to a juvenile court file, only certain individuals identified by statute are allowed to inspect or copy such records. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 827, subd. (a)(3).)

Guerra filed an in propria persona lawsuit against the County and Sanchez in October 2003. The operative complaint contains two causes of action, one for libel and one for slander.[1] In the first cause of action, Guerra asserted that Sanchez â€