Citroen Cars Corp. v. Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board

Petitioner Citroen Cars Corporation appeals from a judgment of the Los Angeles County Superior Court denying its petition for a writ of mandate under Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5 directing respondent Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board 1 to reverse its decision awarding unemployment compensation benefits to certain former employees of Citroen.

*947 Issue

Is the ruling of respondent Appeals Board that the Claimants were entitled to unemployment compensation benefits supported by substantial evidence?

Facts

Petitioner Citroen Cars Corporation ceased its Los Angeles business operations on December 31, 1977, which was the last date on which Claimants were employed.

On December 30, 1977, Citroen wrote to Claimants and its other employees notifying them that their employment was terminated as of the following day because Citroen was ending its Los Angeles operations. In that same letter, each of the two Claimants was advised that he was entitled to two and three months’ “severance pay,” respectively, based on 1977 salary, to be paid in approximately equal installments, less withholding, on a semimonthly basis during the period applicable (two or three…