Bagley

A defendant moved for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication of 130 “issues” attacking the plaintiff’s seven causes of action. The trial court denied the motion for summary judgment, summarily adjudicated 27 of the issues in favor of the defendant, and denied the remaining 103 requests for summary adjudication. Relying on the same facts and the same law, the defendant thereafter made a second motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication of each of the plaintiff’s seven causes of action. The second motion was heard by a different judge, and summary judgment was granted. On the plaintiff’s appeal, we conclude that the second motion was barred by subdivision (f)(2) of section 437c of the Code of Civil Procedure, and therefore reverse the judgment.

Facts

Richard Bagley (then a 28-year-old accountant) went to work for TRW, Inc. in 1967. For more than 20 years, Bagley worked continuously for TRW, receiving many promotions, ultimately (in 1987) to Chief Financial Manager of the Space & Technology Group. From 1981 to 1991, Bagley was named by TRW as a “key employee” — which meant that, based upon performance, he ranked in the…