Beltran v. Hard Rock Hotel Licensing, Inc., 97 Cal. App. 5^th 865 (2023)

Stephanie Beltran, a server at the Hard Rock Hotel in Palm Springs, alleged she had been sexually harassed by Juan Rivera, the former General Manager of the hotel. Beltran reported to Human Resources that Rivera had “grabbed or slapped her ass.” Beltran also testified in her deposition about “multiple incidents of conduct over a period of months, including leering gestures, hand massages, and inappropriate questions, which culminated with the slapping or groping incident.” Although the trial court granted summary adjudication in favor of the employer, the Court of Appeal reversed, holding that this evidence was more than sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether “a reasonable person who was subjected to the harassing conduct would find that the conduct so altered working conditions as to make it more difficult to do the job.” In so holding, the Court relied principally upon Cal. Gov’t Code § 12923 and the case law that post-dates the January 1, 2019 effective date of the statute.

The Court also published that portion of its opinion concerning the “appropriate scope” of a separate statement of undisputed material facts filed in support of a motion for summary judgment, concluding that the separate statement filed in this case, which included over 600 paragraphs and ran over 100 pages, was neither “convenient nor expeditious” in that it included not only “material” facts but also “merely background information that has [no] relevance to any cause of action or defense.” The Court similarly criticized the plaintiff’s opposition separate statement, holding that “it is completely unhelpful to evade the stated fact in an attempt to create a dispute where none exists.”