Farmer

This is an appeal from the judgment of the Los Angeles Superior Court granting respondent’s petition for administrative man damus (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5) and compelling appellants to grant respondent a hearing pursuant to appellant’s civil service rule VII. Inasmuch as the trial court was required to exercise its independent judgment in this matter and our scope of review is limited to determining whether substantial evidence exists to support the trial court’s judgment, our review of the record compels the conclusion that there was sufficient evidentiary support for the order granting the petition. Therefore, we must affirm.

Facts

In January 1977 respondent was hired by appellant as a rehabilitation inspector/estimator. Among petitioner’s duties were those of assisting property owners in applying for rehabilitation loans and grants, financial counseling, construction planning and cost estimating. In this capacity, respondent was required to work closely with financial institutions in processing loan applications and with appellant’s finance department. Respondent was a permanent employee of appellant.

On November 6, 1979, respondent was served with a notice of…