1

Filed 4/10/17

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

DEBORAH SHAW, )

)

Petitioner, )

) S221530

v. )

) Ct.App. 2/3 B254958

THE SUPERIOR COURT OF )

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, )

) Los Angeles County

Respondent; ) Super. Ct. No. BC493928

 )

THC—ORANGE COUNTY, INC., et al., )

Real Parties in Interest. )

____________________________________)

This case presents two issues: (1) Is a trial court ruling denying a request

for a jury trial in a civil action subject to review prior to trial by a petition for an 

extraordinary writ or may such a ruling be reviewed only by appeal after trial? 

and (2) Is there a right to a jury trial in a health care facility whistleblower action 

for retaliatory termination brought pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 

1278.5, subdivision (g), as amended in 2007?

For the reasons explained below, we conclude (1) that a trial court ruling 

denying a request for a jury trial in a civil action is reviewable prior to trial by a 

petition for an extraordinary writ, and (2) that there is no statutory right to a jury 

trial in a cause of action for retaliatory termination under the statutorily created

civil action authorized under Health and Safety Code section 1278.5, 

subdivision (g) inasmuch as the language and legislative history of that statute 
2

demonstrate that the Legislature intended that the remedies available in such an 

action would be determined by the court rather than by a jury. The absence of a 

jury trial in a retaliatory termination action under Health and Safety Code section 

1278.5, subdivision (g) does not deprive a plaintiff of a right to a jury trial,

however, because Health and Safety Code section 1278.5, subdivision (m) fully 

preserves a plaintiff‟s right to obtain a jury trial in the related tort cause of action 

for wrongful termination in violation of public policy authorized under Tameny v.

Atlantic Richfield Co. (1980) 27 Cal.3d 167 (Tameny).

I. FACTS AND LOWER COURT PROCEEDINGS

Petitioner Deborah Shaw (hereafter plaintiff) filed the underlying lawsuit 

against her former employers — Kindred Hospital and related entities (hereafter 

defendants)1 — based on the claim that she was unlawfully terminated from 

employment. Plaintiff‟s first amended complaint (the operative filing) alleged that 

during her employment plaintiff complained to defendants about several aspects of 

defendants‟ operations that adversely affected the quality of care and services 

provided to patients. In particular, plaintiff allegedly complained that defendants 

were employing health care professionals who were not licensed and/or certified 

or “who had not properly completed their competencies.” Plaintiff asserted that in 

retaliation for her complaints, defendants took adverse employment actions against 

her, ultimately culminating in her termination. 

 

1 The named defendants are: THC—Orange County, Inc., doing business as 

Kindred Hospital—Los Angeles; Kindred Healthcare Operating, Inc.; Kindred 

Hospitals West, LLC; and Kindred Healthcare, Inc.
3

On the basis of these allegations, the complaint set forth two causes of 

action, one based on Health and Safety Code section 1278.5, subdivision (g)2 and 

one based on wrongful termination in violation of public policy pursuant to this 

court‟s decision in Tameny, supra, 27 Cal.3d 167. With respect to the cause of 

action for wrongful termination in violation of public policy (the Tameny action), 

the trial court concluded that plaintiff was entitled to a jury trial on that cause of 

action; neither party has challenged that ruling. The only substantive issue before 

us in this proceeding concerns whether there is a right to a jury trial as to 

plaintiff‟s other cause of action, the cause of action authorized by section 1278.5, 

subdivision (g) (hereafter generally referred to as section 1278.5(g)).

With respect to the cause of action under section 1278.5(g), the complaint 

alleged that as a result of defendants‟ violation of section 1278.5 plaintiff “has and 

will continue to suffer past and future monetary [losses], loss of benefits, 

emotional distress, and physical injury,” and sought all of the following as a 

remedy: (1) “compensatory and emotional distress damages;” (2) “lost salary, both 

front and back pay, bonuses, benefits and any other benefits to which Plaintiff 

would have been entitled . . . by reason of Plaintiff‟s employment with 

Defendants;” (3) “[p]unitive and exemplary damages;” (4) “prejudgment interest;” 

(5) “attorneys‟ fees pursuant to Health and Safety Code § 1278.5 and civil 

penalties allowed thereunder;” (6) “costs of suit incurred herein;” and (7) “such 

other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.”

 

2 Unless otherwise indicated, subsequent statutory references are to the 

Health and Safety Code. 
4

Defendants filed an answer to the first amended complaint, generally 

denying the allegations of the complaint and asserting a variety of affirmative 

defenses, and the case ultimately was set for trial.3

Prior to trial, the trial court requested briefing on the issue whether plaintiff 

was entitled to a jury trial on the cause of action under section 1278.5(g) and held 

a separate hearing on that issue. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court

ruled that section 1278.5(g) is properly interpreted as an equitable claim with 

equitable remedies to be determined by the court and therefore held that plaintiff 

was not entitled to a jury trial on the cause of action based on that statute. The 

court stated that it “would hear this matter concurrent with the evidence presented 

at the jury trial [on the wrongful termination in violation of public policy cause of 

action], but would not otherwise instruct the jury on anything related to the

separate whistleblower claim.”

At the same time, recognizing the novelty of the section 1278.5(g) jury trial 

issue, the trial court invited plaintiff‟s counsel to consider filing a petition for writ 

of mandate concerning the matter, and stated that it was prepared to certify, 

pursuant to the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure section 166.1, that it 

believed that “there is a controlling question of law as to which there are 

substantial grounds for difference of opinion, appellate resolution of which may 

materially advance the conclusion of the litigation.”4 After plaintiff‟s counsel 

 

3 Although neither the complaint nor the answer discloses plaintiff‟s 

employment position, defendants‟ return to the petition for writ of mandate filed in 

the Court of Appeal states that plaintiff was employed as a human resources 

coordinator. Plaintiff‟s subsequent filings in the Court of Appeal and this court do 

not question that factual statement.

4 Section 166.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides in relevant part: 

“Upon the written request of any party or his or her counsel, or at the judge‟s 

(footnote continued on next page)
5

indicated a desire to file a writ petition, the trial court stayed the effective date of 

its ruling for five days and certified the matter pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure 

section 166.1.

Plaintiff then filed a petition for writ of mandate in the Court of Appeal, 

challenging the trial court‟s denial of a jury trial on the section 1278.5(g) cause of 

action. The Court of Appeal issued an order to show cause and stayed the lower 

court proceedings in the underlying action pending resolution of the writ matter. 

In their return, defendants maintained that the writ should be denied on two 

separate grounds: (1) that a trial court order denying a jury trial is not reviewable 

prior to trial by extraordinary writ but may be reviewed only by appeal after trial, 

and (2) that, in any event, the trial court properly concluded there is no right to a 

jury trial in a cause of action under section 1278.5(g).

After briefing and argument, the Court of Appeal ruled in plaintiff‟s favor, 

concluding, first, that a trial court‟s denial of a jury trial is reviewable prior to trial 

by a petition for an extraordinary writ, and, second, that the trial court erred in 

determining that there is no right to a jury trial in an action based on section 

1278.5(g).

We granted review to consider both issues. We turn first to the threshold 

procedural question: Is a trial court ruling denying a request for a jury trial

reviewable prior to trial by a petition for an extraordinary writ?

 

(footnote continued from previous page)

discretion, a judge may indicate in any interlocutory order a belief that there is a 

controlling question of law as to which there are substantial grounds for difference 

of opinion, appellate resolution of which may materially advance the conclusion of 

the litigation.”
6

II. Is A TRIAL COURT’S DENIAL OF A REQUEST FOR JURY TRIAL SUBJECT TO 

REVIEW PRIOR TO TRIAL BY A PETITION FOR EXTRAORDINARY WRIT?

In a series of early California Supreme Court cases culminating in the 1931 

decision in Nessbit v. Superior Court (1931) 214 Cal. 1 (Nessbit), this court held 

that a trial court order denying a request for a jury trial was not subject to review 

prior to trial by extraordinary writ but rather could be reviewed only after the trial 

had been completed by appeal of the ultimate judgment. The decision was based

on the general principle that review by extraordinary writ is available only when 

the trial court has acted in excess of or lacks jurisdiction. In summarizing the 

rationale of the preceding line of cases on which it relied, the court in Nessbit

stated that the determination whether a right to a jury trial exists in a particular 

case “is a question of law which the superior court has jurisdiction to hear and 

determine, and if error has been or shall be committed in determining that

question, the petitioner has a sufficient remedy in the ordinary course of law by 

appeal.” (Id. at p. 7.) Under such circumstances, where the trial court that ruled 

on the jury trial question possessed what is now generally described as 

fundamental jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of the litigation, 

the court in Nessbit concluded that review by extraordinary writ was not available. 

(Id. at pp. 7-9; see also Amos v. Superior Court (1925) 196 Cal. 677, 681 [“[T]he 

presence of a lawful jury is not essential to jurisdiction of the subject matter of a 

civil action at law, even though the parties thereto may have a constitutional right 

to a trial thereof before a jury. . . . The writ of prohibition is not a writ of error and 

we are not disposed to use it as such. The respondent court having jurisdiction of 

both the parties and the subject matter may commit error in the exercise of such 

jurisdiction and the appropriate remedy for the correction thereof is an appeal.”]; 

Donohue v. Superior Court (1892) 93 Cal. 252, 253 [same]; Powelson v. 

Lockwood (1890) 82 Cal. 613, 614-615 [same].)
7

Subsequent to Nessbit, supra, 214 Cal. 1, however, in Abelleira v. District 

Court of Appeal (1941) 17 Cal.2d 280 (Abelleira), this court, after observing that 

the term “jurisdiction” is notoriously ambiguous and has different meanings in 

different situations (id. at pp. 286-287), explained that, for purposes of 

determining when review of a trial court ruling by extraordinary writ is 

permissible (as an alternative to review of the ruling on appeal), the term “ „lack of 

jurisdiction‟ ” must properly be understood as having a different meaning from a 

fundamental lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter of the litigation or the 

parties (id. at p. 288). The court in Abelleira stated in this regard: “[I]n its 

ordinary usage [with regard to authorizing review of a trial court ruling by 

extraordinary writ] the phrase „lack of jurisdiction‟ is not limited to these 

fundamental situations. For the purpose of determining the right to review [by 

extraordinary writ] . . . , a much broader meaning is recognized. Here it may be 

applied to a case where, though the court has jurisdiction over the subject matter 

and the parties in the fundamental sense, it has no „jurisdiction‟ (or power) to act 

except in a particular manner, or to give certain kinds of relief, or to act without 

the occurrence of certain procedural prerequisites.” (Ibid.) The Abelleira court 

thereafter summarized its conclusion on this point: “Speaking generally, any acts 

which exceed the defined power of a court in any instance, whether that power be 

defined by constitutional provision, express statutory declaration, or rules 

developed by the courts and followed under the doctrine of stare decisis, are in 

excess of jurisdiction, in so far as that term is used to indicate that those acts may 

be restrained by prohibition or annulled [by extraordinary writ].” (Id. at p. 291; 

see generally 2 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (5th ed. 2008) Jurisdiction, § 285, p. 891.)

Over the many years since Abelleira, supra, 17 Cal.2d 280, California 

appellate decisions have uniformly permitted a trial court denial of a request for 

jury trial to be reviewed prior to trial by a petition for writ of mandate or 
8

prohibition. For example, in Byram v. Superior Court (1977) 74 Cal.App.3d 648, 

654, the Court of Appeal held: “A writ of mandate is a proper remedy to secure 

the right to a jury trial. . . . [E]ven if [the complaining party] could [obtain] . . . 

reversal of the judgment [after a bench trial], such a procedure would be 

inefficient and time consuming.” (See also, e.g., Interactive Multimedia Artists, 

Inc. v. Superior Court (1998) 62 Cal.App.4th 1546, 1550; Turlock Golf etc. Club 

v. Superior Court (1966) 240 Cal.App.2d 693, 695; Knight v. Superior Court

(1950) 95 Cal.App.2d 838, 839-840.)5 Similarly, in recent years our own court 

has on a number of occasions reviewed the validity of a trial court ruling denying 

a jury trial by means of a pretrial extraordinary writ proceeding. (See Grafton 

Partners L.P. v. Superior Court (2005) 36 Cal.4th 944, 950 (Grafton Partners); 

Crouchman v. Superior Court (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1167, 1170-1171 (Crouchman).) 

In neither Grafton Partners nor Crouchman did any party question the propriety of 

review by extraordinary writ and those decisions did not discuss this procedural 

point.

Although California decisions after Abelleira, supra, 17 Cal.2d 280, have 

uniformly permitted a trial court‟s denial of a request for a jury trial to be 

reviewed pretrial by a petition for extraordinary writ, this court has not previously 

been explicitly called upon to address the continued vitality of the line of early 

California decisions culminating in Nessbit, supra, 214 Cal. 1 — decisions, which 

as we have seen, set forth a contrary rule. This case requires us directly to 

confront that question.

 

5 As the quoted passage in Byram indicates, these cases conclude that in this 

context the potential remedy by appeal is not an adequate remedy.
9

As explained above, under Abelleira “any acts that exceed the defined 

power of a court” as prescribed by the Constitution, a statutory provision, or 

controlling judicial decision are properly considered to be “in excess of 

jurisdiction” for purposes of review by extraordinary writ. (Abelleira, supra, 17 

Cal.2d at p. 291.) When the state Constitution or an applicable statute affords a 

party a right to a jury trial in a civil action, a trial court has no power or authority 

to deny a request for a jury, and therefore, under Abelleira, a trial court‟s denial of

a request for jury trial may be reviewed prior to trial by a petition for an 

extraordinary writ. (See generally 2 Witkin, Cal. Procedure, supra, Jurisdiction, 

§ 306, pp. 917-918 [citing cases]; 7 Witkin, Cal. Procedure, supra, Trial, § 82, 

p. 108 [citing cases].)6 Because the holdings in the line of early California 

Supreme Court decisions culminating in Nessbit rest on an understanding of a lack 

or excess of jurisdiction in the extraordinary writ context that is incompatible with 

this court‟s later, controlling decision in Abelleira (see Knight v. Superior Court, 

supra, 95 Cal.App.2d 838, 839-840), Nessbit v. Superior Court, supra, 214 Cal. 1 

and the preceding line of similar California Supreme Court decisions set forth, 

ante, are overruled on this point.7 

 

6 In Franchise Tax Bd. v. Superior Court (2011) 51 Cal.4th 1006, 1009 

(Franchise Tax Bd.), our court reviewed, by pretrial writ, a trial court order that 

granted a jury trial. As in Grafton Partners, supra, 36 Cal.4th 944, and

Crouchman, supra, 45 Cal.3d 1167, no party in Franchise Tax Bd. questioned the 

propriety of pretrial writ relief. Because the trial court order at issue in the present 

case denied a request for jury, we have no occasion to address the availability of 

pretrial writ review when it is claimed that a trial court has erroneously granted a 

request for jury trial.

7 Thus, the decisions in Amos v. Superior Court, supra, 196 Cal. 677, 

Donohue v. Superior Court, supra, 93 Cal. 252, and Powelson v. Lockwood, 

supra, 82 Cal. 613, as well as Nessbit, are overruled to the extent they are 

inconsistent with this opinion.
10

Accordingly, because the right to jury trial issue is properly before us, we 

proceed to determine whether the trial court correctly denied plaintiff‟s request for 

a jury trial in this case.

III. Is THERE A RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL IN A CIVIL CAUSE OF ACTION FOR 

RETALIATORY TERMINATION UNDER HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE 

SECTION 1278.5, SUBDIVISION (G)?

A. General principles regarding the right

to jury trial under California law

Under California law, the right to a jury trial in a civil action may be 

afforded either by statute or by the California Constitution.8 When the right to 

jury trial exists, it provides the right to have a jury try and determine issues of fact. 

(Code Civ. Proc., § 592; Evid. Code, § 312.) Even in such cases, issues of law are 

to be determined by the court, rather than a jury. (Code Civ. Proc., § 591; Evid. 

Code, § 310; see generally 7 Witkin, Cal. Procedure, supra, Trial, § 81, pp. 107-

108 [citing cases].)

1. Statutory right to jury trial

As a general matter, the California Legislature has authority to grant the 

parties in a civil action the right to a jury trial by statute, either when the 

Legislature establishes a new cause of action or with respect to a cause of action 

 

8 To date, the United States Supreme Court has not held that the federal 

constitutional right to a jury trial “[i]n suits at common law, where the value in 

controversy shall exceed twenty dollars,” embodied in the Seventh Amendment of 

the United States Constitution, is an element of due process applicable, through 

the Fourteenth Amendment, in civil actions in state court. (See, e.g., Curtis v. 

Loether (1974) 415 U.S. 189, 192, fn. 6; Minneapolis v. St. Louis Railroad Co. v. 

Bombolis (1916) 241 U.S. 211, 217-223.) The civil jury trial provision of the 

Seventh Amendment has been applied only in federal judicial proceedings. (See, 

e.g., Tull v. United States (1987) 481 U.S. 412.) 
11

that rests on the common law or a constitutional provision. (See, e.g., Code Civ. 

Proc., § 1171 [right to jury trial in unlawful detainer action]; Gov. Code, § 3070 

[right to jury trial in proceeding for removal of public officer]; Prob. Code, § 1827 

[proposed conservatee entitled to jury trial on the question of establishment of a 

conservatorship]; Welf. & Inst. Code, § 1801.5 [right to jury trial on whether 

person is physically dangerous to public].) Given the Legislature‟s broad general 

legislative authority under the California Constitution and in the absence of any

constitutional prohibition (see generally Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. v. Padilla

(2016) 62 Cal.4th 486, 497-498; Marine Forests Society v. California Coastal 

Com. (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1, 31), the Legislature may extend the right to a jury trial 

to instances in which the state constitutional jury trial provision does not itself 

mandate a right to a jury trial.

In instances in which the language and legislative history of a statute 

creating a civil cause of action do not indicate whether the Legislature intended 

that the action is to be tried by a jury or by the court, the question whether there is 

a right to a jury trial is generally determined by application of the state 

constitutional jury trial provision, now embodied in article I, section 16 of the 

California Constitution. (See, e.g., Franchise Tax Bd., supra, 51 Cal.4th at 

pp. 1009-1018; Crouchman, supra, 45 Cal.3d at pp. 1172-1173.)9 But even when 

 

9 California‟s general jury trial statute, section 592 of the Code of Civil 

Procedure, was enacted in 1872 and codifies the right to jury trial as it existed at 

common law. Past California decisions explain that the scope of the right to jury 

trial embodied in Code of Civil Procedure section 592 parallels the scope of the 

right to jury trial embodied in the California constitutional jury trial provision and, 

accordingly, that “ „section 592 provides no independent basis for a right to a 

jury.‟ ” (Franchise Tax Bd., supra, 51 Cal.4th at p. 1010, fn. 3; see also, e.g., 

Corder v. Corder (2007) 41 Cal.4th 644, 656.)
12

the language and legislative history of a statute indicate that the Legislature 

intended that a cause of action established by the statute is to be tried by the court 

rather than by a jury, if the California constitutional jury trial provision itself 

guarantees a right to a jury trial in such a cause of action, the Constitution prevails 

and a jury trial cannot be denied. (See, e.g., People v. One 1941 Chevrolet Coupe

(1951) 37 Cal.2d 283, 299-300; People v. Kelly (1928) 203 Cal. 128, 133.)

2. Constitutional right to jury trial

Article I, section 16 of the California Constitution declares broadly that 

“[t]rial by jury is an inviolate right and shall be secured to all . . . .”10 

Notwithstanding the breadth of this declaration, past California cases make clear 

“that the state constitutional right to a jury trial „is the right as it existed at 

common law in 1850, when the [California] Constitution was first adopted.‟ ” 

(Franchise Tax Bd., supra, 51 Cal.4th at p. 1010, quoting C & K Engineering 

Contractors v. Amber Steel Co. (1978) 23 Cal.3d 1, 8 (C & K Engineering); see 

also, e.g., Crouchman, supra, 45 Cal.3d at pp. 1173-1174; People v. Powell (1891) 

87 Cal. 348, 355.)

 

10 Article I, section 16 of the California Constitution reads in full: “Trial by 

jury is an inviolate right and shall be secured to all, but in a civil cause threefourths of the jury may render a verdict. A jury may be waived in a criminal cause 

by the consent of both parties expressed in open court by the defendant and the

defendant‟s counsel. In a civil cause, a jury may be waived by the consent of the 

parties expressed as prescribed by statute.

“In civil causes the jury shall consist of 12 persons or a lesser number 

agreed on by the parties in open court. In civil causes other than causes within the 

appellate jurisdiction of the court of appeal the Legislature may provide that the 

jury shall consist of eight persons or a lesser number agreed on by the parties in 

open court.

“In criminal actions in which a felony is charged, the jury shall consist of 

12 persons. In criminal actions in which a misdemeanor is charged, the jury shall 

consist of 12 persons or a lesser number agreed on by the parties in open court.”
13

In C & K Engineering, supra, 23 Cal.3d at pages 8-9, we noted: “As a 

general proposition, „[T]he jury trial is a matter of right in a civil action at law, but 

not in equity.‟ [Citations.] [¶] As we stated in People v. One 1941 Chevrolet 

Coupe, supra, 37 Cal.2d 283, „ “If the action has to deal with ordinary commonlaw rights cognizable in courts of law, it is to that extent an action at law. In 

determining whether the action was one triable by a jury at common law, the court 

is not bound by the form of the action but rather by the nature of the rights 

involved and the facts of the particular case — the gist of the action. A jury trial 

must be granted where the gist of the action is legal, where the action is in reality 

cognizable at law.” ‟ (P. 299, fn. omitted, italics added.) On the other hand, if the 

action is essentially one in equity and the relief sought „depends upon the 

application of equitable doctrines,‟ the parties are not entitled to a jury trial. 

[Citations.] Although we have said that „the legal or equitable nature of a cause of 

action ordinarily is determined by the mode of relief to be afforded‟ [citation], the 

prayer for relief in a particular case is not conclusive [citations]. Thus, „The fact 

that damages is one of a full range of possible remedies does not guarantee . . . the 

right to a jury . . . .‟ [Citation.]”

B. Application to section 1278.5, subdivision (g)

1. Description of statute

Section 1278.5 — the whistleblower statute at issue here — declares 

generally that “it is the public policy of the State of California to encourage 

patients, nurses, members of the medical staff, and other health care workers to 

notify government entities of suspected unsafe patient care and conditions.” 

(§ 1278.5, subd. (a).) In furtherance of this policy, the statute prohibits a health 

facility from “discriminat[ing] or retaliat[ing], in any manner, against any patient, 

employee, member of the medical staff, or any other health care worker of the 
14

health facility because that person” has “[p]resented a grievance, complaint, or 

report to the facility” or to a governmental agency or has “participated . . . in an 

investigation . . . related to the quality of care, services, or conditions at the 

facility.” (§ 1278.5, subd. (b)(1).)

11

In addition to providing that a violation of the section “shall be subject to a 

civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars” to be assessed and 

recovered through an administrative process (§ 1278.5, subd. (b)(3))

12 and that a 

willful violation constitutes a misdemeanor (§ 1278.5, subd. (f)), section 1278.5 —

in subdivision (g) — authorizes an employee, a health care worker, or a member 

of a medical staff who has been discriminated against in violation of section 

1278.5 to obtain remedies in a civil judicial action.13 Along with these three 

 

11 Section 1278.5, subdivision (c) establishes a rebuttable presumption of 

retaliation if any type of “discriminatory treatment of a patient” on whose behalf 

“a grievance or complaint has been submitted” occurs “within 180 days of the 

filing of the grievance or complaint.”

Section 1278.5, subdivision (d)(1) establishes an analogous rebuttable 

presumption that “discriminatory action was taken . . . in retaliation against an 

employee, member of the medical staff, or any other health care worker of the 

facility” if the discriminatory action occurs “within 120 days of the filing of a 

grievance or complaint by the employee, member of the medical staff, or, . . .

other health care worker.”

Section 1278.5, subdivision (e) provides, in turn, that the presumptions set 

forth in subdivisions (c) and (d) are “presumptions affecting the burden of 

producing evidence.” (See Evid. Code, § 603.)

12 Section 1278.5, subdivision (b)(3) provides: “A violation of this section 

shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars 

($25,000). The civil penalty shall be assessed and recovered through the same 

administrative process set forth in Chapter 2.4 (commencing with Section 1417) 

for long-term health care facilities.”

13 In Fahlen v. Sutter Central Valley Hospitals (2014) 58 Cal.4th 655, 676, we 

explained that although “[s]ection 1278.5 does not affirmatively state that these 

remedies may be pursued by means of a civil action, . . . it necessarily assumes as 

(footnote continued on next page)
15

distinct remedial provisions, section 1278.5 explicitly provides in subdivision (m)

that “[n]othing in this section abrogates or limits any other theory of liability or 

remedy otherwise available at law.”14

The specific question before us is whether there is a right to a jury trial in 

the civil action authorized by section 1278.5(g) when, as in this case, a plaintiff

who claims to have been wrongfully terminated seeks to recover compensatory 

damages as well as other relief in such an action.

Section 1278.5(g) currently provides in full: “An employee who has been 

discriminated against in employment pursuant to this section shall be entitled to 

reinstatement, reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts 

of the employer, and the legal costs associated with pursuing the case, or to any 

remedy deemed warranted by the court pursuant to this chapter or any other 

applicable provision of statutory or common law. A health care worker who has 

been discriminated against pursuant to this section shall be entitled to 

reimbursement for lost income and the legal costs associated with pursuing the 

case, or to any remedy deemed warranted by the court pursuant to this chapter or 

other applicable provision of statutory or common law. A member of the medical 

staff who has been discriminated against pursuant to this section shall be entitled 

to reinstatement, reimbursement for lost income resulting from any change in the 

 

(footnote continued from previous page)

much when it explains certain procedures that may apply when „the member of the 

medical staff . . . has filed an action pursuant to this section . . . .‟ ([§ 1278.5], 

subd. (h), italics added.)”

14 This subdivision of section 1278.5 was designated as subdivision (j) when 

section 1278.5 was originally enacted in 1999 (Stats. 1999, ch. 155, § 1, p. 2055), 

and was moved and redesignated as subdivision (m) as part of the 2007 

amendment of section 1278.5. (Stats. 2007, ch. 683, § 1, p. 5812.)
16

terms or conditions of his or her privileges caused by the acts of the facility or the 

entity that owns or operates a health facility or any other health facility that is 

owned or operated by that entity, and the legal costs associated with pursuing the 

case, or to any remedy deemed warranted by the court pursuant to this chapter or 

any other applicable provision of statutory or common law.”

Because plaintiff in this case was an employee of defendant health facility, 

the parties agree that it is the first sentence of section 1278.5(g) — applicable to 

“[a]n employee who has been discriminated against in employment” — that is 

directly at issue here.

2. Statutory right to jury trial?

Neither the first sentence nor any other portion of section 1278.5(g) 

expressly addresses the question whether the cause of action established by this 

provision is to be tried by a jury or by the court. Plaintiff maintains, however, 

that, properly understood, the current provisions of section 1278.5(g), as the 

subdivision was amended in 2007, were intended to grant a right to a jury trial 

when a plaintiff seeks damages in such an action and thus that the statute should 

be interpreted to provide such a right.

As initially enacted in 1999, section 1278.5(g) provided in full that “[a]n 

employee who has been discriminated against in employment pursuant to this 

section shall be entitled to reinstatement, reimbursement for lost wages and work 

benefits caused by the acts of the employer, and the legal costs associated with 

pursuing the case.” (Stats. 1999, ch. 155, § 1, p. 2055.) Past California decisions 

generally treat the listed remedies as equitable in nature (see, e.g., Dyna-Med, Inc. 

v. Fair Employment & Housing Com. (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1379, 1387
17

(Dyna-Med)),

15 and plaintiff explicitly acknowledges in briefing in this court that 

“the remedies under the initial version of section 1278.5 provided equitable 

relief.” Plaintiff does not assert that the 1999 version of section 1278.5(g) was 

intended to or in fact created a right to a jury trial in a cause of action brought 

under this section.

Plaintiff argues, however — and the Court of Appeal agreed — that in light 

of the 2007 amendment of section 1278.5(g) (Stats. 2007, ch. 683, § 1, p. 5811), 

and the expansion of potential remedies afforded by that amendment, section 

1278.5(g) is now properly interpreted to afford an aggrieved employee a right to a 

jury trial when the employee seeks to recover damages in such an action. As 

noted above, the relevant portion of section 1278.5(g) as amended in 2007 

currently provides: “An employee who has been discriminated against in 

employment pursuant to this section shall be entitled to reinstatement, 

reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the 

employer, and the legal costs associated with pursuing the case, or to any remedy 

deemed warranted by the court pursuant to this chapter or any other applicable 

provision of statutory or common law.” (The language added by the 2007 

amendment is italicized and is hereafter referred to simply as “the 2007 

amendment.”)

 

15 In Dyna-Med, supra, 43 Cal.3d at page 1387, the court observed: “Here the 

statutorily authorized remedies — hiring, reinstatement, upgrading with or without 

backpay, restoration to membership in a respondent labor organization — are 

exclusively corrective and equitable in kind.” (Accord, Curtis v. Loether, supra,

415 U.S. at p. 197 [“In Title VII cases the courts of appeals have characterized 

backpay as an integral part of an equitable remedy, a form of restitution.”].)
18

The Court of Appeal reasoned that because the 2007 amendment permits 

“any remedy . . . pursuant to . . . any . . . provision of statutory or common law,” 

and because statutory remedies are not necessarily equitable and “many, if not all, 

common law remedies are also not equitable,” the amended statute “allows for 

legal as well as equitable remedies, giving rise to the inference that a jury trial was 

contemplated by the Legislature.” Defendants take issue with the Court of 

Appeal‟s premise and conclusion, maintaining that neither the language nor the 

legislative history of the 2007 amendment supports the Court of Appeal‟s 

determination that a jury trial was contemplated by the Legislature. In analyzing 

the statutory jury trial issue, we turn first to the language of the 2007 amendment.

There is no dispute that the 2007 amendment significantly expanded the 

remedies that are available to health care employee whistleblowers under the 

statute. The statute now permits an employee to obtain, in addition to the specific 

remedies previously listed in the statute, “any remedy . . . pursuant to . . . any other

applicable provision of statutory or common law.” (§ 1278.5(g).) The parties 

disagree, however, about the nature of the additional remedies authorized by the 

2007 amendment. Plaintiff contends that given the breadth of the 2007 

amendment — and particularly in view of the legislative history of the 2007 

amendment discussed below (post, at pp. 21-25) — the common law remedy

authorized by the 2007 amendment must reasonably include, for example, an 

award of money damages to compensate for an economic loss caused by an 

employer‟s discriminatory or retaliatory conduct, damages that are typically 

characterized as legal, rather than equitable, in nature. (Cf. Commodore Home 

Systems, Inc. v. Superior Court (1982) 32 Cal.3d 211, 215 [construing provision of 

Fair Employment and Housing Act authorizing civil cause of action, which did 

“not address the subject of judicial remedies,” to permit “all forms of relief 

granted to civil litigants generally”].) Defendants argue, by contrast, that because
19

the specific remedies listed in section 1278.5(g) are all equitable remedies, the 

additional remedies authorized by the 2007 amendment reasonably should be

interpreted as limited to additional equitable remedies. (Cf. Dyna-Med, supra, 43 

Cal.3d at pp. 1386-1393 [construing general remedial language of the Fair 

Employment and Housing Act as authorizing Fair Employment and Housing 

Commission to provide only equitable, corrective remedies in light of equitable 

nature of specific remedies set forth in the applicable provision]; Peralta 

Community College Dist. v. Fair Employment & Housing Com. (1990) 52 Cal.3d 

40, 48-57 [same].)

For the reasons discussed hereafter, we conclude that in resolving the jury 

trial issue before us in this case we need not determine whether the 2007 

amendment of section 1278.5(g) is properly interpreted to authorize the imposition 

of legal as well as equitable remedies. As explained, even assuming that the 

Legislature intended to permit the imposition of legal as well as equitable 

remedies in an appropriate case, we conclude that section 1278.5(g) still is not 

reasonably understood, as a matter of statutory interpretation, to afford a right to a 

jury trial in such an action. 

We focus initially on the language of the 2007 amendment to section 

1278.5(g) — “or to any remedy deemed warranted by the court pursuant to this 

chapter or any other applicable provision of statutory or common law.” The 

amendment states that it is “the court,” and not a jury, that is to determine whether 

any of the potential expanded remedies are “deemed warranted” in a particular 

case. (§ 1278.5(g).) Under the statute, the court‟s determination of what other 

remedies are warranted in a particular case necessarily depends upon the court‟s 

evaluation of the efficacy and appropriateness of potential alternative remedies. 

Thus, even when the 2007 amendment is viewed in isolation, the language does 
20

not suggest that the Legislature intended that an action under section 1278.5(g) is 

to be tried by a jury rather than by the court.16

Further, when the amended version of section 1278.5(g) is read as a whole, 

it appears even more clearly that the statute is reasonably interpreted to provide for 

a court, rather than a jury, trial. As noted, the new remedies provided by the 2007 

amendment are in addition to the remedies previously set forth in the subdivision. 

The trial court is directed to determine what remedies are warranted in a particular 

case by reference to all of the potential remedial measures authorized by section 

1278.5(g), most of which — as plaintiff acknowledges — are equitable in nature. 

In a particular case, a trial court may well determine, in light of the specific nature 

of an employer‟s misconduct and the practicality of particular remedies given the 

existing relationship between employer and employee, that, assuming legal 

remedies are available, a combination of both equitable remedies and monetary 

damages is warranted. Under the statutory language, however, the determination 

of the appropriate mix of equitable and legal remedies is to be made by the trial 

court alone. The language of section 1278.5(g), as amended in 2007, indicates 

that the Legislature intended that the cause of action established by that provision

is to be tried and resolved by the court rather than by a jury, even when a plaintiff 

seeks damages in such an action.

 

16 The trial court relied on this same reasoning, but the Court of Appeal 

rejected this analysis, asserting that “[t]he court is to select the appropriate 

remedy, but if the remedy is legal rather than equitable, the court should properly 

instruct the jury on the factual determinations the jury must make in order to 

award that remedy.” The Court of Appeal‟s determination, however, fails to take 

into account that under the statute the amount of damages to be awarded will 

necessarily depend upon the nature of the equitable remedies that are to be 

imposed.
21

Finally, the legislative history of the 2007 amendment provides additional

support for this conclusion with regard to legislative intent.

The bill that ultimately resulted in the 2007 amendment to section 

1278.5 — Assembly Bill No. 632 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill 

No. 632) — was introduced on February 21, 2007. The bill was sponsored by the 

California Medical Association and was proposed in order to extend to physicians

and surgeons on the medical staffs of hospitals or other health care facilities the 

protections against discrimination and retaliation that the then-existing provisions 

of section 1278.5 afforded to employees of health care facilities. (Assem. Com. on 

Health, Analysis of Assem. Bill No. 632 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.) as introduced

Feb. 21, 2007, pp. 4-5.) As initially introduced, the bill did not include the “any 

remedy deemed warranted by the court” language that is at the heart of the 

controversy before us, but simply added a sentence extending the right to file a 

civil action under section 1278.5(g) to “[a] physician and surgeon who has been 

discriminated against pursuant to this section” as well as to an employee of a 

health care facility who has similarly been discriminated against. (Assem. Bill 

No. 632 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.) as introduced Feb. 21, 2007.)17

 

17 As introduced, Assembly Bill No. 632 proposed to amend section 1278.5, 

subdivision (g) to read as follows: “An employee who has been discriminated 

against in employment pursuant to this section shall be entitled to reinstatement, 

reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of the 

employer, and the legal costs associated with pursuing the case. A physician and 

surgeon who has been discriminated against pursuant to this section shall be 

entitled to reinstatement, reimbursement for lost income resulting from any 

change in the terms or conditions of his or her privileges caused by the acts of the 

facility or its affiliate, and the legal costs associated with pursuing the case.” 

(Assem. Bill No. 632 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess,) as introduced Feb. 21, 2007.) (The 

proposed amended language is italicized.)
22

While the bill was pending in the Legislature, Assembly Bill No. 632 was 

amended on a number of occasions. Prior to the consideration of the bill by the 

Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing in early July 2010, a bill analysis 

prepared for that committee raised the question whether the remedies then

provided in the bill were adequate in light of the variety of potential retaliatory 

acts against physicians that the California Medical Association had brought to the 

Legislature‟s attention in letters sent to the Legislature.

Because of the relevance of the bill analysis‟s discussion to the issue of 

legislative intent, we quote the analysis at some length: “All of the state‟s 

whistleblower statutes apply to employees who disclose information about their 

employer‟s activities or proposed activities that violate or will violate the law in 

some manner. Thus, these statutes provide for various remedies that only 

employees could be entitled to, that are ascertainable and easily enforced.

“Current § 1278.5 in fact enumerates various remedies for an employee 

who has been discriminated or retaliated against: reinstatement, reimbursement for 

lost wages and work benefits caused by the employer‟s actions, and legal costs 

associated with pursuing the whistleblower‟s case under the statute. Because the 

physician and medical staff are most likely not employees of a hospital, the 

remedies available to them could be entirely different, depending on the retaliatory 

action that was taken.

“According to the CMA [California Medical Association], examples of 

actions a hospital can take to suppress physician-whistleblowers or to retaliate 

against them are: (1) underwriting the salary and/or practice expenses of a 

competing physician; (2) establishing a medical care foundation and supporting its 

physicians with hospital funds; (3) recruiting competing physicians to the 

community in the absence of a community deficit for that specialty; 

(4) establishing a medical practice administrative service company for selected 
23

physicians and charging below market rates so that the doctor keeps a higher 

percentage of the collections and gains a competitive advantage; (5) buying the

medical building with the physician‟s office and refusing to renew the physician‟s 

lease; (6) inducing primary care physicians to refer patients to the hospital 

outpatient facility for tests, bypassing the specialist‟s office-based testing (e.g., 

imaging and cardiac tests); (7) providing special scheduling priorities for hospital 

facilities; (8) underwriting certain physicians and empowering them with control 

or influence over the peer review process; (9) developing investment partnerships 

with selected physicians (surgery center, MRI center) that provide lucrative annual 

returns on investment (e.g., 50% return on investment (ROI) annually); and 

(10) providing special equipment leasing arrangements for selected physicians 

with above market ROI.

“AB 632 [as then worded] however would provide only the following 

remedies to a physician who was discriminated or retaliated against: reinstatement 

(of privileges?), reimbursement for lost income resulting from any change in the 

terms [or] conditions of his or her privileges caused by the health facility‟s acts or 

acts of any other facility owned or operated by the entity, and the legal costs of 

pursuing the case.

“It would seem that none of these remedies would give adequate redress to 

a physician who suffered any of the retaliatory acts named above.

“SHOULD THERE BE A CATCH-ALL PROVISION FOR A COURT TO 

FASHION WHATEVER REMEDY WOULD FIT THE RETALIATORY ACT?” 

(Sen. Judiciary Com., Analysis of Assem. Bill No. 632 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.) as 

amended June 6, 2007, pp. 6-7 (2007 Senate Judiciary Analysis), capitalization in 

original.)

In apparent response to the emphasized question in the foregoing bill 

analysis, Assembly Bill No. 632 was amended on July 17, 2007, to add to the 
24

remedies previously set forth in section 1278.5(g) the following language: “or to 

any remedy deemed warranted by the court pursuant to this chapter or any other

applicable provision of statutory or common law.” (Sen. Amend. to Assem. Bill 

No. 632 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.) July 17, 2007.) Moreover, this catchall language 

was added not only to the portion of subdivision (g) that addresses the remedies 

available to a member of medical staff — such as a physician or surgeon — who 

has been discriminated against, but also to the separate portions of subdivision (g) 

that list the remedies available to an employee who has been discriminated against

and to a health care worker who has been discriminated against. Assembly Bill 

No. 632, as finally enacted into law, included this amended language.

This legislative history demonstrates that the catchall provision that was 

added to section 1278.5(g) in 2007 was intended, in the words of the bill analysis, 

to permit “a court to fashion whatever remedy would fit the retaliatory act.” (2007 

Sen. Judiciary Analysis, supra, at p. 7, capitalization omitted.) This language 

strongly suggests that the intent was to authorize the court, rather than a jury, to 

determine the appropriate remedy. Not only does the bill analysis refer to a court 

rather than to a jury, but the act of fashioning an appropriate remedy to fit the 

nature of a wrongful act is the usual description of the type of discretionary 

equitable action that is to be taken by a court, rather than a jury. (Accord, DiPirro 

v. Bondo Corp. (2007) 153 Cal.App.4th 150, 182 [“Where, as here, the statute has 

delegated the assessment of civil penalties in accordance with a highly 

discretionary calculation that takes into account multiple factors, this is the kind of 

calculation traditionally performed by judges rather than a jury . . . .”].) Nothing 

in the legislative history indicates that the 2007 amendment was intended to give a 

jury authority to determine what type of remedies are warranted and should be 

imposed in a particular case.
25

Accordingly, for all the foregoing reasons, we conclude that, even if section 

1278.5(g) as amended in 2007 is properly interpreted to authorize the granting of 

legal and well as equitable remedies, the Legislature intended that the action 

would be decided by a court rather than a jury when a defendant seeks to recover 

damages in such an action. Thus, as a matter of statutory interpretation, section 

1278.5(g) does not afford a plaintiff the right to a jury trial in such an action.

3. Constitutional right to jury trial?

Plaintiff contends that even if section 1278.5(g) does not, as a statutory 

matter, afford a right to jury trial in an action brought pursuant to the statute, when 

a plaintiff seeks damages for retaliatory termination in such an action the gist of 

the action is comparable to a common law tort or breach of contract action and is 

legal in nature. Plaintiff asserts that as a consequence the jury trial provision of 

the California Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in such an action. 

Defendants maintain, by contrast, that no cause of action comparable to a section 

1278.5(g) action existed at common law in 1850. Defendants argue that in light of 

both the scope of the remedial provisions of section 1278.5(g) (including both 

equitable and, as we have assumed, legal remedies) and the manner in which the 

appropriate mix of remedies is to be fashioned, the gist of an action under section 

1278.5(g) is equitable in nature even when the plaintiff seeks to recover damages. 

Accordingly, defendants contend that there is no right to a jury trial in such an 

action under the California Constitution. If section 1278.5(g) provided the only 

means under California law for a health care employee whistleblower to obtain 

relief from unlawful retaliatory termination, we would be required to decide 

whether the gist of a section 1278.5(g) action in which damages are sought is legal 

or equitable in nature to determine whether the statute improperly deprives the

whistleblower of the constitutional right to a jury trial under the California 

Constitution.
26

For the reasons explained hereafter, however, we conclude that in resolving 

the constitutional jury trial issue we need not decide whether the gist of an action 

for retaliatory termination under section 1278.5(g) in which damages are sought is 

legal or equitable in nature, because an action under section 1278.5(g) is not the 

only means under California law by which a plaintiff can obtain a jury trial on a 

claim for damages for retaliatory termination. As noted in our earlier summary of

the various provisions of section 1278.5, subdivision (m) of section 1278.5 

provides that section 1278.5 as a whole — including the cause of action authorized 

by section 1278.5(g) — does not “abrogate[] or limit[] any other theory of liability 

or remedy otherwise available at law” to a person aggrieved by conduct that 

violates section 1278.5. (Ante, at p. 15.) Accordingly, under the terms of section 

1278.5 itself, the cause of action established by section 1278.5(g) is expressly in 

addition to any other remedy a health care whistleblower otherwise possesses.

One such remedy, of course, is a health care employee‟s right to bring a 

civil action for retaliatory termination under this court‟s decision in Tameny, 

supra, 27 Cal.3d 167. In Tameny this court held that an employee may bring an 

action in tort when an employer‟s discharge of the employee contravenes the 

dictates of public policy. (Id. at pp. 176-177.) And in our subsequent decisions in 

Gantt v. Sentry Insurance (1992) 1 Cal.4th 1083, 1095 and Stevenson v. Superior 

Court (1997) 16 Cal.4th 880, 888-890, we held that one of the appropriate sources 

to which a court may look in determining whether a discharge or termination

violates the state‟s public policy is a statutory declaration of public policy adopted 

by the Legislature.

As we have seen, in section 1278.5 the Legislature has explicitly provided

that it is the public policy of this state to encourage health care employees to 

notify government entities of unsafe patient care and conditions and to prohibit a 

health care facility from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who has 
27

presented a grievance or complaint related to the quality of care, services, or 

conditions at the facility either to the facility itself or to a governmental agency. 

(§ 1278.5, subds. (a), (b)(1).) Accordingly, in an employee‟s suit for retaliatory 

termination, any conduct of the health care facility that would support a cause of 

action under section 1278.5(g) would also provide a basis for a tort action under 

Tameny. (Accord, Khajavi v. Feather River Anesthesia Medical Group (2000) 84 

Cal.App.4th 32, 51-52 [physician‟s wrongful termination action under Tameny

properly based on defendant‟s alleged violation of Bus. & Prof. Code § 2056, 

which prohibits retaliation against a physician for advocating for medically 

appropriate health care].)

In light of the language of section 1278.5, subdivision (m), a health care 

employee whistleblower‟s cause of action for retaliatory termination under section 

1278.5(g) is clearly in addition to the health care employee whistleblower‟s right 

(1) to bring a legal action for damages for retaliatory termination under this court‟s 

decision in Tameny, supra, 27 Cal.3d 167, (2) to obtain a jury trial in the Tameny

action, and (3) to have the jury in the Tameny action determine whether the 

employee was subjected to unlawful retaliatory termination and, if so, the amount 

of damages that the plaintiff is entitled to recover for such conduct.

18 Thus, even 

 

18 At oral argument, defendants‟ counsel asserted that when a Tameny action 

is based on a violation of the public policy set forth in section 1278.5, the 

remedies available in the Tameny action are necessarily limited to the same 

remedies that are available in the cause of action authorized under section 

1278.5(g). We disagree. The public policies upon which such a Tameny action 

rests are set forth in section 1278.5, subdivisions (a) and (b), and those 

subdivisions do not embody any limitation on remedies that properly would be 

carried over into a Tameny action. Any limitation on remedies that may apply in a 

section 1278.5(g) action (assuming there is such limitation) would not restrict the 

remedies that are ordinarily available in a Tameny action; that is particularly true 

in light of the language of section 1278.5, subdivision (m), which states that 

(footnote continued on next page)
28

if, as plaintiff contends, an employee who seeks to recover damages for retaliatory 

termination has a constitutional right under the California Constitution to have his 

or her claim for damages resolved by a jury, California affirmatively grants that 

right to an employee through a Tameny action. In enacting section 1278.5(g) and 

providing for a court trial of the section 1278.5(g) action, the Legislature has not 

curtailed a health care employee whistleblower‟s right to obtain a jury trial when 

the employee seeks damages for retaliatory termination; the employee retains that 

jury trial right in an action under Tameny. Instead, section 1278.5(g) simply 

affords an employee who alleges that he or she has been the subject of retaliatory 

termination the option of bringing a distinct cause of action, either in addition to or 

instead of a Tameny action, in which the plaintiff can obtain the remedies 

prescribed by section 1278.5(g), including equitable remedies that a jury would 

not be able to provide in a Tameny action.19

 

(footnote continued from previous page)

nothing in section 1278.5 “abrogates or limits any other theory of liability or 

remedy otherwise available at law.” We have no occasion in this matter to address 

the validity of the Court of Appeal decision relied upon by defendants‟ counsel 

(Dutra v. Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta (2012) 209 Cal.App.4th 750, 754-756 

[holding that a common law wrongful termination action may not be based upon 

the public policy against retaliation for filing a workers‟ compensation claim set 

forth in Lab. Code, § 132a]; but cf. City of Moorpark v. Superior Court (1998) 18 

Cal.4th 1143, 1161 [holding that “disability discrimination [in violation of Lab. 

Code, § 132a] can form the basis of a common law wrongful discharge claim”]), 

because, in any event, the public policies embodied in section 1278.5, subdivisions 

(a) and (b), are not in any manner inconsistent with permitting recovery of the full 

and ordinary remedies available in a Tameny action, and the statute at issue in 

Dutra, supra, 209 Cal.App.4th 750, did not contain a provision comparable to 

section 1278.5, subdivision (m). 

19 The complaint in this case does not directly explain why plaintiff has 

chosen to seek relief under both a Tameny action and an action under section 

1278.5(g). To the extent plaintiff seeks only compensatory and punitive damages 

(footnote continued on next page)
29

Further, because section 1278.5, subdivision (m) establishes that section 

1278.5 was intended to fully preserve a whistleblower‟s rights under a Tameny 

action, in the retaliatory termination context a health care employee who chooses to 

bring both a Tameny cause of action and a cause of action under section 1278.5(g)

retains the right in the Tameny action to have a jury determine whether he or she is 

entitled to recover damages and the amount of damages to be recovered for such

unlawful termination. Consistent with the purpose underlying section 1278.5, 

subdivision (m), in the section 1278.5(g) cause of action the court cannot foreclose 

or undermine the employee‟s right to a jury trial in the Tameny cause of action.

As noted above, the trial court in this case stated that it would consider the 

evidence presented to the jury concurrently with the jury, and did not suggest that it 

would preempt the jury‟s determination of damages under the Tameny cause of 

action by ruling on the cause of action under section 1278.5(g) prior to the jury‟s 

resolution of the Tameny claim. (See ante, at p. 4.) In other contexts, California 

decisions have held that when both legal and equitable claims are at issue, a trial 

court has discretion to rule first on the equitable claim; this may obviate a jury trial 

 

(footnote continued from previous page)

or other legal remedies as to which a right to jury trial would apply, the cause of 

action under Tameny would be sufficient to afford plaintiff complete relief. The 

prayer for relief set forth in the section 1278.5(g) cause of action in the complaint 

includes other items that conceivably could support an award of some sort of 

equitable relief ― for example, specific performance of some of the unspecified 

benefits “to which Plaintiff would have been entitled . . . by reason of Plaintiff‟s 

employment with Defendants” or some other type of equitable relief “as the Court 

deems just and proper” ― that could be awarded only by the court in an equitable 

action. The prayer in the section 1278.5(g) cause of action also seeks an award of 

“attorneys‟ fees pursuant to Health and Safety Code § 1278.5 and civil penalties 

allowed thereunder.” We have no occasion in this case to determine whether 

either of the latter two items is recoverable in a section 1278.5(g) action.
30

of the legal claim if the trial court‟s ruling is dispositive of an issue crucial to the 

legal claim. (See, e.g., Connell v. Bowes (1942) 19 Cal.2d 870, 872; Jaffe v. 

Albertson Co. (1966) 243 Cal.App.2d 592, 609.) Because section 1278.5, 

subdivision (m) provides that section 1278.5 is not intended to abrogate or limit a 

plaintiff‟s remedy in a Tameny action, however, we conclude that when a plaintiff 

who claims to have been subjected to retaliatory termination pursues both a cause of 

action under Tameny and a cause of action under section 1278.5(g) in the same 

proceeding, the court may not deprive the plaintiff of the right to a jury 

determination of the Tameny cause of action by ruling first on the section 1278.5(g) 

claim. Instead, consistent with the purpose of section 1278.5, subdivision (m), when 

a plaintiff seeks a jury trial in a Tameny cause of action the court must permit the 

jury to resolve the Tameny claim and thereafter give effect to the jury‟s resolution in 

its determination of any remaining issues in the section 1278.5(g) cause of action. 

(Accord, Hughes v. Dunlap (1891) 91 Cal. 385, 388-390; Hoopes v. Dolan (2008) 

168 Cal.App.4th 146, 158-161.)20

 

20 In this case, plaintiff seeks recovery for retaliatory termination and thus 

clearly may maintain an action and obtain a jury trial under Tameny. Because the 

issue is not before us, we have no occasion to consider under what circumstances a 

plaintiff in a section 1278.5(g) action who alleges discriminatory treatment other 

than retaliatory termination has a right to bring a Tameny action or is otherwise 

entitled to a jury trial. (Compare Garcia v. Rockwell Internat. Corp. (1986) 187 

Cal.App.3d 1556, 1560-1562, described with apparent approval in Scott v. Pacific 

Gas & Electric Co. (1995) 11 Cal.4th 454, 465 [upholding Tameny action for 

discipline short of termination] with Daly v. Exxon Corp. (1997) 55 Cal.App.4th 

39, 45 [rejecting Tameny action for failure to renew employment contract];

Montevalli v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist. (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 97, 112-

113 [same]; Touchstone Television Productions v. Superior Court (2012) 208 

Cal.App.4th 676, 680-681 [same].)
31

In sum, even if plaintiff is correct in maintaining that the California 

Constitution‟s jury trial provision should be interpreted to guarantee an employee‟s 

right to obtain a jury trial when the employee seeks damages in an action for 

retaliatory termination, section 1278.5, subdivision (m) preserves plaintiff‟s right to 

a jury trial on damages for retaliatory termination in her Tameny action. Thus, the 

Legislature in providing for a court trial in an action under section 1278.5(g) has not 

abrogated or undermined plaintiff‟s right to a jury determination of damages. For 

this reason, we conclude that the Legislature did not violate the state constitutional 

jury trial provision in providing for a court determination of a retaliatory termination

cause of action under section 1278.5(g), even when a plaintiff seeks damages in 

such an action.21

Finally, to avoid any misunderstanding, we reiterate that we need not and do 

not decide in this case whether a statute providing for a court trial in a whistleblower

action would violate the California Constitution if California law did not otherwise 

afford an aggrieved employee who seeks damages for retaliatory termination the 

right to a jury trial. Similarly, we need not and do not decide whether such a statute 

would violate the jury trial provision of the California Constitution if such a statute 

purported to displace an employee‟s right to bring a Tameny action. 

 

21 We recognize that, as a theoretical matter, if a plaintiff chooses not to file a 

Tameny action and instead seeks damages only through an action pursuant to 

section 1278.5(g), a defendant in the statutory action conceivably might claim that 

it was being denied its asserted right to a jury trial on the issue of retaliatory 

termination if the section 1278.5(g) cause of action is tried by the court. We need 

not address that highly theoretical question in the present case. Here, plaintiff has 

brought a Tameny action in which defendants will have a right to a jury trial on the 

matter and, in any event, defendants have waived any right to a jury trial in the 

section 1278.5(g) action by specifically objecting to a jury trial on that claim.
32

IV. CONCLUSION

For the reasons discussed above, the Court of Appeal decision is affirmed 

insofar as it concludes that a trial court ruling denying a requested jury trial may 

be challenged prior to trial by a petition for an extraordinary writ, but is reversed 

insofar as it concludes that there is a right to a jury trial in a cause of action for 

retaliatory termination under section 1278.5(g) when a plaintiff seeks damages in 

such an action. The matter is remanded to the Court of Appeal for further 

proceedings consistent with these conclusions.

CANTIL-SAKAUYE, C. J.

WE CONCUR:

WERDEGAR, J.

CHIN, J.

CORRIGAN, J.

LIU, J.

CUÉLLAR, J.

KRUGER, J.
See next page for addresses and telephone numbers for counsel who argued in Supreme Court.

Name of Opinion Shaw v. Superior Court

__________________________________________________________________________________

Unpublished Opinion

Original Appeal

Original Proceeding

Review Granted XXX 229 Cal.App.4th 12

Rehearing Granted

__________________________________________________________________________________

Opinion No. S221530

Date Filed: April 10, 2017

__________________________________________________________________________________

Court: Superior

County: Los Angeles

Judge: Alan S. Rosenfield

__________________________________________________________________________________

Counsel:

Shegerian & Associates, Inc., Carney R. Shegerian and Anthony Nguyen for Petitioner.

Center for Legal Affairs, Francisco J. Silva and Long X. Do for California Medical Association as Amicus 

Curiae on behalf of Petitioner.

No appearance for Respondent.

Shaw Valenza, D. Gregory Valenza and Jasmine L. Anderson for Real Parties in Interest.

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Barry S. Landsberg and Joanna S. McCallum for Dignity Health as Amicus 

Curiae on behalf of Real Parties in Interest.

Jacquelyn Garman; Arent Fox, Lowell C. Brown, Erin L Muellenberg and Jonathan E. Phillips for 

California Hospital Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Real Parties in Interest.
Counsel who argued in Supreme Court (not intended for publication with opinion):

Carney R. Shegerian

Shegerian & Associates, Inc.

225 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 700

Santa Monica, CA 90401

(310) 860-0770

D. Gregory Valenza

Shaw Valenza

425 University Avenue, Suite 200

Sacramento, CA 95825

(916) 640-2240

Barry S. Landsberg

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

11355 West Olympic Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90064-1614

(310) 312-4000