Gonzales v. St. Joseph's Heritage Health CA4/3

INTRODUCTION

This appeal arises from a judgment in favor of defendants St. Joseph’s Heritage Healthcare (St. Joseph’s) and its employees Ron Gonzalez and Shawn Coughlin (collectively defendants). The trial court sustained their demurrer against plaintiff Olivia Gonzales’s complaint without leave to amend, based in part on the court’s conclusion that Gonzales’s causes of action were barred by claim preclusion. We affirm. Gonzales signed a severance agreement ending her employment with St. Joseph’s. Gonzales filed a total of three lawsuits related to the agreement and events occurring before and after she signed the agreement. Her second lawsuit was against the same defendants here and ended after the trial court granted defendants’ special motion to strike all of its causes of action. This appeal relates to the third lawsuit filed by Gonzales. All of the acts alleged in the third lawsuit occurred before the filing of the second lawsuit. We review the trial court’s sustaining of the demurrer de novo and its denial of leave to amend for abuse of discretion. We conclude the court ruled correctly because claim preclusion bars Gonzales’s claims in her third lawsuit and she has not…