Brand

Larry Brand appeals from a judgment entered after the trial court sustained the demurrer of defendants the Regents of the University of California (the Regents), Alan Paau, John Woods, Eduardo Macagno, Michael Melman and Daniel Wyman (collectively, defendants) [1] to Brand's lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that defendants unlawfully retaliated against him for making disclosures protected by the California Whistleblower Protection Act (Gov.Code, § 8547 et seq.). [2]

We conclude that except with respect to the third cause of action against Melman (and the second cause of action, which is not at issue in this appeal), the trial court erred in sustaining the demurer. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment in part.

According to the operative second amended complaint in this action (the complaint), Brand was employed by the Regents as a senior licensing officer in the Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Service office (TTIPS) at the campus of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Brand alleges that he discovered "serious and unlawful fraud and misappropriation of funds," self-dealing and other conflicts of interest involving his supervisor, Paau, and then,…