“Demoted” Assistant City Planner Files Suit Against Malibu, Claims Planning Commissioners Were Racist And Demeaning

A lawsuit has been filed against two city council members … and the city … by a departed city hall planner.

Former Malibu city employee Adrian Fernandez cites examples of alleged racial discrimination … and his lawyer says people in this all-white city use code words to discriminate against nonwhite people.

They lawsuit also names the Malibu city manager …

No response yet from any of the defendants. 

Fernandez filed suit against the City of Malibu yesterday … also naming city council members Bruce Silverstein and Steve Uhring as personally liable for defaming him and invading his privacy … according to his lawyer. 

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money … but the lawyer who filed it tells KBUU that he expects a jury to award tens of millions of dollars in damages.

Fernandez’s lawyer is Austiag Parineh.

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“The base of our lawsuit is that Adrian was treated unfairly by the city, and it’s officials and the lawsuit of lends that there were actions that were inappropriate and discriminatory and retaliatory taken by those city officials that ultimately led to forcing Adrian out of his job.”

Parineh tells KBUU News that he had to take the case to federal and state agencies … let them investigate … before filing a lawsuit.

That took time … that apparently is why the lawsuit was not filed before the election. 

The lawyer says the issue is more than money. 

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“I hope to make Adrian as full as I can monetarily.  And also give him some justice,

“As I said, he was treated unfairly, and I think a lot of his the reason why he wanted to file the lawsuit was a accountability in holding these public officials accountable.”

The heart of Fernandez’s lawsuit is examples of what he calls racial discrimination.

In effect … Parineh says that demands from Malibu that the city hire more locals can only be interpreted as attempts for racial segregation.

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“When it comes to racial discrimination, Malibu is very white. 

“And so when you start saying things like ‘we need to hire people from inside,’ it shows notions of racial discrimination. 

“When you start saying things like ‘oh, we don’t need a crosswalk here on PCH, that’s just for maids,’ that has notions of racial discrimination.”

That is clearly a reference to city planning commissioner John Mazza … 

At a Planning Commission meeting last February. Mazza argued that a bus stop and crosswalk on PCH should be removed … because … as Mazza said …

“We don’t know how many people use the bus stop, because nobody lives there.

“The only people that I can contemplate using the bus stop, are the local maids.”

Mazza was appointed by Steve Uhring, a defendant in the suit.  Mazza is not named as a defendant … but he is named in the lawsuit as an example of the disdain heaped on city employees by city officials. 

And he might get added as the suit proceeds,. as the lawsuit accuses 50 additional unnamed defendants who might get added as discovery gets underway.

Quoting from the lawsuit …

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“For example, Planning Commissioner John Mazza, appointed by Defendant Uhring in 2021, referred to the City employees as ‘cockroaches’ in a public statement to a local newspaper …  saying they ‘scurry into their holes if you turned the lights on at City Hall.’

“Such statements are unnecessary, unprofessional, and reflect the disdain some Planning Commission and City Council members show towards planners through public beratement.” 

That’s part of the lawsuit filed against the city … as read by a KBUU reporter. 

The attorney says Malibu is not going to be able to staff key city departments if city officials keep berating city employees.

That’s the same point made by the Baker Tilley report … an audit that the city brought in to examine what is wrong in the Planning Department. 

It’s also the same point made by the city’s insurance company, which has brought in consultants to City Hall to address poor relations between the planning staff and the bosses.

The lawyer says the disdain voiced by planning commissioners … and the city council members who appoint them … is damaging. 

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“The citizens of Malibu, regardless of where they stand on development issues, should be very concerned with what happened to Adrian and how he was treated. 

“Because if this treatment of public servants continues, I really do believe the city will fall apart. 

“There’s not enough people inside of the city of Malibu that wanna work there. There’s not enough qualified people in the city of Malibu, residents, that would work there.”

Adrian Fernandez is lawsuit does not list a damages amount.

Again, lawyer Austiag Parineh.

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“I’m going to let the jury decide that. 

“You know I never question a jury. 

“Juries can be unpredictable. “

“You see awards now for wrongful termination cases discharge cases in the $40-$50 million range. 

“I really don’t know. I always leave it up to a jury. 

“I’m been dumbfounded as to some verdicts and disrupted by others and thought I would get my clients a lot more money than they awarded.

“It can be very unpredictable, but we will leave it to the jury.”

City manager Steve McClary is also named in the lawsuit … he supposedly demoted Fernandez last July after the employee exercised his right to take a leave of absence.

The city has an insurance policy against massive judgements … but there is a deductible that the city taxpayers will have to cover if the city loses.

The city will have to pay for the lawyers who will defend the city manager and the city itself … and possibly Silverstein and Uhring.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday … no response from the city … the city manager … or  defendants Silverstein or Uhring yet. 

We will seek responses from them today.