Morrow v. City of Oakland
A woman accused plaintiff Frank Morrow, Jr., an Oakland police officer, of sexually assaulting her when she was in his custody. The City of Oakland (City) settled the womans civil claim for damages and Morrow has filed several lawsuits challenging the Citys internal investigation and legal representation of him, and the conduct of the accusers attorneys. In this latest lawsuit, the trial court applied collateral estoppel to bar Morrow from repeating claims previously adjudicated in federal court.
Morrow, in propria persona, appeals after demurrers to his complaint were sustained without leave to amend, and summary judgment was granted on the Citys cross-complaint for breach of a settlement agreement entered in prior litigation. Respondents fall into three, separately represented groups: (1) the City, City Attorney John Russo, Assistant City Attorney Randolph Hall, and Attorney James Hodgkins (collectively, City defendants); (2) the Burnham Brown law firm and its attorneys John Verber and Claudia Leed, who defended Morrow in the sexual assault litigation (collectively, Burnham Brown); and (3) attorneys Dennis Roberts and Paul Turley, who represented Morrows accuser. Court affirm the judgments.
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