County Counsel Guarino sued the county after it investigated him a second-time overcharge and a suit brought by a woman subordinate to Guarino’s alleging he made her work environment hostile as a result of her gender.  Investigation of charges against a county official is protected activities under CCP 425.16(e).  Guarino showed no probability of success on his breach of employment contract claims because a constitutional officer like county counsel is employed pursuant to statute, not pursuant to contract, so the first element of a breach of contract claim was missing.

California Court of Appeal, Third District (Hull, J.); March 1, 2018 (published March 29, 2018); 2018 WL 1532338