Butte County Court rejects Demurrer to CPOA’s Petition for Writ of Mandate

On January 28, 2010, the Butte County Superior Court issued its tentative ruling overruling the City of Chico’s Demurrer to the Petition for Writ of Mandate filed by Goyette & Associates, Inc. on behalf of the Chico Police Officers Association (CPOA) to compel the City of Chico to comply with the meet and confer requirements of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA).
In 2009, the City of Chico unilaterally adopted a change to the job description for the position of Police Sergeant with the Chico Police Department. This change had a negative and immediate effect on current Chico Police Officers, and the CPOA attempted to meet and confer with the City about their concerns. The City refused to meet and confer with CPOA as required under the MMBA, and eventually CPOA was forced to resort to the Court to compel the City to comply with its statutory obligation, filing a Petition for Writ of Mandate under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1085.
In response to the Petition, the City of Chico filed a demurrer to challenge the legal sufficiency of the arguments made in the Petition. The demurrer and Petition were calendared for a hearing date on January 29, 2010, but the day before the hearing, the Court issues its ruling rejecting the Demurrer which had been opposed by Goyette & Associate’s Attorney, John McCaslin. The Court gave the City 20 days to answer the Petition, and will set a further hearing to rule on the Petition.