Steen

BACKGROUND

Following the death of their daughter and granddaughter, plaintiffs Donya Steen, Marion Steen-Prager, and Michael Prager filed a civil rights action against the County, Hunter, and Lorna Hornbeek, who were both social workers employed by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Plaintiffs sought punitive damages. The County demurred. While the demurrer was pending, the County sent a letter to Hunter (attached as an exhibit to Hunter’s cross-complaint) indicating the allegations against Hunter involved conduct within the course and scope of her employment so the County would provide a defense to her and indemnify her for any settlement or judgment for compensatory damages. It noted by statute it was not obligated to pay an award of punitive damages against Hunter and would only do so in its sole discretion if it determined the conditions in Government Code section 825 were satisfied.1 It assigned the Law Offices of David Weiss (Weiss) to represent Hornbeek and Hunter, while the County was represented by separate counsel. It noted there was an inherent potential for a conflict of interest from the joint representation of Hornbeek and Hunter, but…