Zhang v. County of Monterey

Background

Jacqueline Zhang sued the County of Monterey and identified County subdivisions over the termination of her County employment. The court treated the named defendants collectively as the County because the subdivisions were undisputedly part of the County. Zhang’s seventh cause of action sought a writ of mandate under California Code of Civil Procedure section 1085. She requested an order requiring reinstatement to her County position and back pay.

The County asked the court to decide the writ petition itself rather than submit it to an advisory jury. In the alternative, the County asked the court to decline supplemental jurisdiction—the federal court’s authority to hear a related state-law claim—over the petition.

Judicial Adjudication Instead of an Advisory Jury

The court held that Zhang had no right to a jury trial on a section 1085 writ-of-mandate petition. A court may use a jury in such a proceeding at its discretion when the petition presents an essential factual question affecting the parties’ substantial rights. Zhang had not identified such a factual question.

The court explained that the petition primarily raised the legal question whether the County had a clear, present, and ministerial duty to reinstate Zhang and whether Zhang had a corresponding right to that relief. Because the petition primarily presented a legal issue, the court concluded that it should decide the petition. The court also found that Zhang had not identified benefits an advisory jury would provide and that the cited procedural rule did not create a right to an advisory jury.

Supplemental Jurisdiction

The court retained supplemental jurisdiction over the petition even though it involved a novel issue of state law. It considered the circumstances of the litigation, including that the case had been pending for four and a half years, the parties had conducted substantial discovery and litigated summary-judgment and pretrial motions, the court had already handled pretrial matters, and the case was near trial.

The County first asked the court to decline supplemental jurisdiction about one month before the scheduled trial. The court concluded that economy, fairness, and convenience strongly favored retaining jurisdiction. It therefore exercised supplemental jurisdiction over Zhang’s petition.

Disposition

The court granted the County’s request for judicial adjudication of Zhang’s petition for a writ of mandate under California Code of Civil Procedure section 1085. The order did not decide the petition’s ultimate merits, including whether Zhang was entitled to reinstatement or back pay.