Mission Viejo ordered to pay more than $715,000 in attorneys’ fees, judge says

• October 13, 2023

Mission Viejo must pay more than $715,000 in attorneys’ fees, a judge said, to a resident who challenged how the city extended three councilmembers’ terms while it worked on implementing a new voting system.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm last week ordered the city to pay additional fees, bringing the total to $715,137. The city is disputing at least some of those awarded fees, City Attorney Bill Curley said.

City leaders intended to transition to a new cumulative style of voting in Mission Viejo in response to complaints that its election process diluted the voting power of minority residents. It would have required all council members to be elected at the same time, so three seats were elected to two-year terms in 2018 to even things out. The change was ultimately abandoned because of pushback from the state, and the city instead instituted district-based voting last year, which required council terms to be staggered again.

In 2022, Schwarm ruled three councilmembers — Ed Sachs, Greg Raths and Wendy Bucknum — had stayed longer than the two years to which voters elected them in 2018 and would need to vacate their seats. (Bucknum is the only one who is still a councilmember following the elections last year.)

Mission Viejo resident Michael Schlesinger filed legal action in 2021 challenging whether the three councilmembers’ tenure should have been prolonged as city officials worked out the new city-wide voting system, which they said took longer than expected. City officials argued because the city didn’t change its election process, the terms reverted back to their original four years in the city code.

Related links

3 Mission Viejo council members removed from office, court may still consider appeal
Term extensions in Mission Viejo challenged as voting for City Council is changed
Mission Viejo drops cumulative voting idea, moves to district-based elections

Bucknum, Raths and Sachs were removed from office in November 2022, but the ruling did not bar them from running for reelection. Bucknum won her election to her seat. However, due to how the new districts were drawn, Raths and Sachs had to run in the same district. They lost to Councilmember Cynthia Vasquez.

“These attorneys’ fee awards vindicate our efforts to hold the city and the City Council accountable,” said Schlesinger. “What is sad is that all the city and the City Council had to do was simply follow the law.”

Schlesinger also successfully challenged the plan to extend the terms of Councilmembers Trish Kelley and Brian Goodell, who were elected in 2020, by an additional two years. Schwarm ordered that all five seats be on the ballot last year.

“In simple terms, Goodell, Kelley, Sachs, Bucknum and Raths tried to deprive myself and my fellow citizens of the right to vote,” said Schlesinger. “They got caught and are paying the consequences for their despicable and unprecedented actions.”

Neither Bucknum, Goodell, Kelley, Raths or Sachs responded to requests for comment.

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While the issue involving the length of councilmembers’ terms has been decided, the city is still in a dispute over the attorneys’ fees, Curley said.

“As to the money that plaintiff’s legal counsel now seek from city taxpayers, the city notes that the total amount sought in court filings by plaintiff’s three law firms was some $1.2 million,” Curley said, pointing out the trial court awarded about half of that.

The city is appealing the award of fees in one case and might in another, he said.

“I do not think any of us expected to spend this much time on the case,” said attorney Aaron Hand, who represents Schlesinger. “Because of the efforts the city went through to delay the process, to push out a resolution and the legal battle they decided to put us in, we all ended up spending more time fighting out attorney fees than we did over the substance of the case.”

​ Orange County Register 

Why do trucks take lanes through former toll-booth areas?

• October 13, 2023

Q. Why is there a separate lane for trucks and vehicles with trailers that goes through the old toll booth areas at the northern part of the 241 Toll Road? Vehicles pulling trailers routinely instead use the regular three left-hand lanes. This is the only point on the 241 tollway that requires this special treatment. Northbound traffic in the afternoon becomes totally grid-locked, so any truck wanting to go westbound on the 91 Freeway has to really fight to get over to the far-left lanes after clearing the former toll areas.

– Mark Speros, San Juan Capistrano

A. Caltrans wanted truck-climbing lanes out there on steep slopes “to allow trucks and other slower vehicles to stay to the right of main traffic,” said Michele Miller, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which manages the 241, 73, 261 and 133 toll roads. These stretches met Caltrans’ criteria for such lanes.

In 2014, when those toll roads stopped collecting cash and went to all-electronic tolling, the toll plazas were reconfigured and the signs changed to direct trucks and cars with trailers through those areas to separate them for a bit from the rest of traffic to improve the flow. The climbing lanes had been there before, but were modified.

The 241 has climbing lanes in both directions at what is called the Windy Ridge Toll Point. On the 73, there is a similar setup at the Catalina View Toll Point.

The California Highway Patrol is to enforce the laws on these tollways, including ensuring that trucks and trailers take their special lanes.

“We do have details who work specifically on the 241,” said Sergio Rivera, a spokesman and officer for the California Highway Patrol.

But, he added, an officer needs to be out there during the violation, and might choose to go after a bigger problem instead – say an excessive speeder.

Now, as to whether there is enough time on the northbound 241 at the Windy Ridge Toll Point for truckers to get into a left lane, Miller said in an email:

“The roadway design allows for sufficient distance of over one mile to access the lanes that merge onto westbound 91. The Transportation Corridor Agencies … installed signage and pavement markings to provide advanced notice to motorists who want to access the westbound or eastbound lanes to the 91.”

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Q. Hi Honk: Now that we are seeing gas prices spike and hear refinery problems are part of the problem, do you know why we don’t build more refineries in this country? Sure would alleviate a large part of the problem.

– Bob King, Huntington Beach

A. It seems building a significant one, at least here in the states, would face more hurdles than Edwin Moses ever did, Bob.

A story earlier this year in Barron’s cited such woes as securing the needed permits and the amount of money and time it takes to build one. Forbes, in an article from last year, added other obstacles: climate change concerns and society’s resistance to promote fossil fuels.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, Fox Business reported, said last year he didn’t believe the U.S. would produce another new refinery because of the federal government’s stance: “At every level of the system, the policy of our government is to reduce demand, and so it’s very hard in a business where investments have a payout period of a decade or more.”

There are, though, new refineries in Nigeria and Mexico.

HONKIN’ FACT: The 1953 double-decker bus Paul and Linda McCartney bought in 1972 for a Wings tour that year will be on the auction block in mid-November. Painted in psychedelic colors, it offered a playpen, mattresses and beanbags on the top deck for the bandmates and their families while enjoying the sunshine. The bus logged more than 7,500 miles in ’72 for a European tour. It is forecast to be sold for $200,000 to $300,000. (Source: Julien’s Auctions.)

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

​ Orange County Register 

Newsom’s aspirations temper his progressive instincts

• October 13, 2023

SACRAMENTO – If you’re like me and simply want the government to leave us alone and tend to its basic tasks – providing public services, building infrastructure, etc. – then you no doubt follow every legislative session with foreboding. Progressive Democrats who control our state are intent on regulating our lives and raising our taxes, which leads to a sense of vulnerability as hundreds of intrusive bills head to the governor’s desk.

This year, however, Gov. Gavin Newsom pulled a few surprises. He insists that he’s not running for president, but his vetoes of the fringiest measures suggest his promises aren’t ironclad. He rejected nearly 20 percent of bills that reached his desk, which is an “unusually large percentage,” per CalMatters. Many veto messages, it noted, include boilerplate language warning that some bills would add to the state’s deficit. He seems to be channeling his predecessor, deficit-weary Jerry Brown.

Here are some of the main examples. Newsom vetoed a measure requiring public schools to provide free, easily available condoms to students. His budgetary argument was a stretch, but any governor with national aspirations wouldn’t want such baggage. Can you see the TV ads from his opponents had he signed it? Likewise, with his veto of Amsterdam-like cannabis cafes and a measure that would have decriminalized some psychedelic drugs.

He also nixed a bill to provide one week of severance to laid-off grocery store workers for every year of work, noting that state law already provides myriad layoff protections. He rejected a cap on insulin co-pays, explaining the state already is working on a plan to lower costs. His veto of a ban on caste discrimination came with the sensible explanation that such discrimination already is illegal.

Newsom rejected a ludicrous bill that would have created a state agency to build and manage government-owned housing. He again raised the cost argument, but anyone who has followed the sordid history of public-housing projects in America would quickly realize that the government can’t fix our state’s housing woes (although it can make them worse) – and would produce terribly managed high-rise slums.

Sure, unions scored expected legislative victories, but Newsom at least vetoed a bill giving striking workers unemployment benefits – something that would have overburdened a system already facing insolvency. The governor rejected cash payments up to $1,900 a month for undocumented seniors – another decision that makes sense in the context of a national political campaign.

Progressives were understandably disappointed, but that should only hearten the rest of us. “While a lot of these bills may not fly in the Deep South, they’re unremarkable in progressive California, and were on Newsom’s desk in the first place because the state Legislature put them there – ostensibly carrying out the will of California voters,” lamentedCNN columnist Jill Filipovic. Yes, legislators put them there, but elected governors have the final say regarding the “will of the people.” That’s how our system works.

Newsom mostly vetoed bills that would have provided immense pushback for little gain. I have nothing against legalizing psychedelics, but critics far outnumbered beneficiaries. Newsom did sign several noxious measures. He OK’d a bill making it harder for landlords to evict troublesome tenants. He required companies to disclose greenhouse-gas emissions. He banned certain food additives. That’s par for the course in progressive California.

Newsom also signed a bill allowing Capitol staffers to join a union beginning in 2026. State workers belong to unions, but legislative workers are unique. Legislators need the flexibility to hire whomever they choose to implement their agenda. These mostly are political positions, with a high churn rate – not career jobs. I chuckle at that one for mischievous reasons, as it might remind union-friendly lawmakers of the burdens they place on other employers. I bet lawmakers will regret this one.

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Newsom signed a massive package of 56 housing-related bills. Some involve troublesome tenant protections. But some are good. Most notably, Senate Bill 423 streamlines housing approvals in coastal cities (reducing the power of the anti-growth California Coastal Commission) and loosens regulations for market-rate projects. Senate Bill 4 allows universities and religious groups to build – on a by-right basis – housing on their property.

Newsom touted a term I’ve never heard: YIGBY (Yes In God’s Back Yard). That’s weird, but it probably will result in additional new housing. God bless him for that signing. He even signed legislation that clarifies the California Environmental Quality Act, thus making it harder for local NIMBY governments to abuse CEQA to limit housing approvals.

In his statement, Newsom quoted Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who is the driving force behind pro-housing reforms: “The era of saying no to housing is coming to an end. We’ve been planting seeds for years to get California to a brighter housing future, and today we’re continuing strongly down that path.” May it be so.

So it’s been a less-bad legislative session than expected. I still feel relief it’s over.

Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute and a member of the Southern California News Group editorial board. Write to him at [email protected].

​ Orange County Register 

High school football: Scores from the Week 8 games Thursday, Oct. 12

• October 13, 2023

All of the scores from the CIF-SS and L.A. City high school football games Thursday, Oct. 12.

THURSDAY’S SCORES

CIF-SS

605 LEAGUE

Artesia 37, Pioneer 19

Cerritos 38, Glenn 0

BIG 4 LEAGUE

Segerstrom 64, Katella 0

BIG WEST-UPPER LEAGUE

Corona Centennial 62, Vista Murrieta 14

CITRUS 4 LEAGUE

Colony 34, South Hills 14

CRESTVIEW LEAGUE

Foothill 22, Villa Park 21

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Cypress 42, Placentia Valencia 14

HACIENDA LEAGUE

Diamond Bar 42, Nogales 0

Walnut 42, Ontario 6

IVY LEAGUE

Rancho Verde 45, Elsinore 10

MARMONTE LEAGUE

St. Bonaventure 29, Simi Valley 24

MIRAMONTE LEAGUE

La Puente 14, Bassett 10

MISSION VALLEY LEAGUE

Arroyo 63, Mountain View 14

MOORE LEAGUE

Long Beach Poly 50, Cabrillo 6

MOJAVE RIVER LEAGUE

Serrano 35, Sultana 22

MOUNTAIN VALLEY LEAGUE

San Bernardino 34, Rubidoux 16

ORANGE LEAGUE

Anaheim 51, Magnolia 22

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Burbank Burroughs 41, Arcadia 7

RIO HONDO LEAGUE

San Marino 35, Pasadena Poly 0

SKYLINE LEAGUE

Bloomington 20, Colton 18

Fontana 47, Riverside Notre Dame 6

SUNKIST LEAGUE

Summit 35, Grand Terrace 21

SUNSET LEAGUE

Edison 31, Newport Harbor 28

NONLEAGUE

Vista del Lago 41, Moreno Valley 18

L.A. CITY

EASTERN LEAGUE

Huntington Park 27, Los Angeles Roosevelt 12

Bell 14, South Gate 0

8-MAN

CIF-SS

Milken 69, Vista Meridian 6

CITY SECTION

Sherman Oaks CES 38, East Valley 14

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​ Orange County Register 

Passing attack lifts Anaheim football to win over Magnolia that boosts playoff chances

• October 13, 2023

ANAHEIM — The Anaheim football team stayed true to its new offensive philosophy by airing it out early and often in a 51-22 victory over Magnolia on Thursday night at Western High.

Colonists quarterback MJ Fernandez threw five touchdown passes, three going to wide receiver Jason Garrett, in the Orange League contest.

Anaheim (4-4, 2-1) is now on track for a postseason berth, and coach Lanny Booher hopes to continue the team’s momentum in an important league game next week against Savanna.

“Obviously, to get that one (next week), it would get us into the playoffs and it would be big,” Booher said. “Our third win (in league) would probably get us in, so that’s the most important thing right now. We’ll worry about Western when they come.”

Garrett caught three passes for 75 yards with each reception scoring a touchdown. Fernandez, who finished with 239 yards passing, also threw TD passes to Jeremiah Castro and Xavier Aviles.

“It was great,” Booher said of the Fernandez-Garrett connection. “Jason got hurt early in the season, so he’s only been back for a couple of games, so its really good to see that timing come back. Hopefully we can make a playoff run and they can continue to click.”

Anaheim running back Eduardo Guardado ran for 116 yards and two second-half touchdowns.

The Colonists scored on the first play of the game, a 68-yard catch by Castro, and made it 14-0 on Fernandez’s next completion, a 58-yard pass to Garrett.

Magnolia quarterback Andre Scott passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns and also recorded an interception on defense against Anaheim on Thursday, Oct. 12. (Photo by David Delgado)

Magnolia sophomore quarterback Andre Scott threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns passes. His favorite target was Dontay Houston, who caught nine passes for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Sentinels (1-7, 1-2) also got a big contribution from Samuel Alcazar, who had five receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Magnolia scored on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Scott to Alcazar and then recovered the ensuing onside kick.

The Sentinels took the lead, 15-14, with an 11-yard TD catch by Houston and a 2-point conversion by Scott.

Magnolia coach Poutoa Fuega recognizes that his team is very young and lacking experience, but he liked what he saw when the Sentinels took a brief advantage to end the first quarter after falling behind 14-0.

“Normally, when we get down like that, the kids are already breaking down,” Fuega said, “but this time they actually prevailed and picked up the pieces.”

“We knew they had some athletic guys and they were going to be tough to contain,” Booher said of the first-quarter play by Magnolia. “When you make mistakes, those guys will make you pay for it.”

Aviles’ 39-yard TD catch in the second quarter on third-and-28 gave the Colonists a 21-15 lead they would not relinquish.

The Sentinels fumbled on the next play from scrimmage and the loose ball was recovered by Joshua Meza.

Fernandez found Jason Garrett for a 15-yard TD pass later in the second quarter, then Ricardo Vela added a 23-yard field goal before halftime.

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​ Orange County Register 

Foothill football stuns Villa Park in Crestview League opener with rousing finish

• October 13, 2023

ORANGE — A gutsy decision by Foothill football coach Doug Case to go for a 2-point conversion after Aaron Mitchell’s 2-yard touchdown run with under two minutes remaining in the game proved to be the difference in the Knights’ 22-21, come from behind victory over previously undefeated Villa Park in a Crestview League opener Thursday at El Modena High School.

Mitchell’s scoring run was the highlight of a 53-yard scoring drive that featured huge completions from Foothill quarterback Nicholas Miali and a wild play in which possession changed twice.

Miali ran in the winning 2-point conversion following Mitchell’s touchdown.

Foothill quarterback Nicholas Miali (10) completed 11 of 22 passes for 162 yards and ran in the game-winning 2-point conversion in the Knights’ 22-21 victory over Villa Park on Thursday, Oct. 12, at El Modena High School. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

“We’re on the road, we’re fighting for a league title,” Case said. “There was no doubt in my mind we were going for two right then. We had momentum, the kids were fired up, we’ve been a great second-half team. They were tired at the end. Mitchell just scored on an easy jab, so we just faked it to Mitchell, and Miali ran it in for the 2-pointer.”

With Crestview League teams playing only three league games, one more victory for the Knights (5-3, 1-0) can almost guarantee a playoff berth.

The Spartans (7-1, 0-1), who are ranked No. 10 in Orange County, need to pick up a victory next week in a home contest against Yorba Linda.

In the game-winning drive, the Knights had possession on the Spartans’ 34 when Mialli completed a 30-yard pass to the 4.

But the ball was fumbled and picked up by Jacob Johnson of Villa Park, who ran 30 yards before fumbling the ball back to the Knights.

Foothill faced a fourth-and-9 from the Spartans 32 when Miali completed a 17-yard pass to Jack Zerkel, and that was followed by an 11-yard completion to Connor Pietras.

Mitchell scored two plays later, setting up the winning 2-point conversion.

Villa Park took over at its 20 with 1:49 remaining and in a position to win the game with a field goal.

But Foothill safety Bode Jellerson put an end to that possibility with an interception with 46 seconds remaining.

An interception by Foothill safety Bode Jellerson (3) with 49 seconds remaining sealed the Knights’ 22-21 victory over Villa Park in a Crestview LEague opener Thursday, Oct. 12, at El Modena High School. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

“We put in a cover four drop back because we knew we’d probably find ourselves in a situation like this,” Jellerson said. “They had a little bit of time in the pocket. It was probably bound to get intercepted if it took them that long to get it off. It was definitely a pop fly. We were locked in on the football.”

Vince Lagatta’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Jarrel gave Villa Park a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.

Lagatta then connected with Carter Christie for a 9-yard score, making the score 14-0 after the successful 2-point conversion.

On the ensuing kickoff, Jacob Williams recovered a fumble for the Spartans on the Foothill 23 and it appeared as though the Spartans would add to their lead.

But the momentum changed quickly when Foothill’s Bryce Perkins intercepted a third-down pass at the 1 and returned it 91 yards.

Aaron Mitchell scored on a 4-yard run three plays later to make the score 14-7.

The Knights forced a punt and then Miali then scored on a 1-yard run on the final play of the first half to tie the score.

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​ Orange County Register 

Edison football rallies to edge Newport Harbor in thriller that ends with blocked field goal attempt

• October 13, 2023

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HUNTINGTON BEACH — Edison’s football team found itself in familiar territory Thursday as it quickly faced adversity against Newport Harbor, falling behind by two touchdowns against a sizzling quarterback.

But the Chargers responded with the perseverance they’ve shown again this season.

Edison endured all the way to the final play, blocking a 32-yard field goal attempt by Newport Harbor as time expired to seal a dramatic 31-28 victory in the Sunset League at Huntington Beach High.

Junior Jake Minter leaped to deflect the low kick, igniting a wild celebration by Edison (5-3, 3-0), which rallied from a 14-0 deficit behind freshman quarterback Sam Thomson and junior running back Julius Gillick.

“It’s incredible,” Edison senior cornerback Jared Schnoor said of the victory. “The amount of energy and courage it took to finish that game out is crazy. Both teams played really well.”

Edison block for the win … great game! ⁦@EdisonChargerFB⁩ ⁦@EdisonSportsNet⁩ pic.twitter.com/YJfAbAx0N1

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) October 13, 2023

Edison, ranked 12th in Orange County, navigated playing four of its first five games on the road after its season-opening trip to Hawaii was canceled due to the Maui fires. Against No. 13 Newport Harbor (3-5, 1-2), the challenge was slowing down quarterback Jaden O’Neal and wide receivers Jordan Anderson — an Oregon commit — and Josiah Lamarque.

O’Neal passed for 335 yards while Anderson finished with 16 catches for 167 yards. Lamarque added 12 catches for 115 yards.

Edison took a 31-28 lead on a 22-yard field goal by junior Nico Bammer with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Backup quarterback Bode Stefano then led Sailors down the field, converting a fourth-down pass in taking his team to the Edison 10 with 15 seconds left. The junior threw two passes toward the end zone for the victory before Newport Harbor tried to send the game into overtime with the field goal.

Newport Harbor was aiming for its first victory against Edison since 1979.

“I think in that final drive, a lot of our kids had a lot of confidence that we were going to punch it in,” Sailors coach Peter Lofthouse said. “Credit to Edison’s defense and special teams.”

O’Neal completed his first 12 passes in leading a sizzling start for Newport Harbor.

The sophomore opened the game by guiding a 67-yard scoring drive capped by a 3-yard TD pass to Cade Fegel.

O’Neal led another long scoring drive on Newport Harbor’s next possession, which he punctuated w/ a 1-yard TD run.

But Edison recovered to tie the score at 14-14 at halftime as Schnoor scored on a 4-yard run and Thomson tossed his first of two touchdowns to senior wide out Mason York.

In the second half, the teams were tied at 21-21 in the third, which saw the O’Neal leave late in period with an injury.

“He says he’ll be fine for next week,” Lofthouse said of O’Neal, who limped after a 16-yard run. “We’re going evaluate that.”

In the middle of the fourth quarter, Thomson threw a 25-yard TD to York to knot the score at 28-28 with 7:23 left.

Thomson spent most of the season with the freshmen team but played for injured starter Save Niumata, who warmed up but didn’t play.

Gillick rushed for 217 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown to give Edison its first lead early in the second half.

Next week, Edison plays rival Fountain Valley in the teams’ Bell Game at Orange Coast College on Oct. 20. The Chargers own an 18-game winning streak in the series.

Edison closes the Sunset League against Los Alamitos at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach on Oct. 27.

Newport Harbor next week plays host to rival Corona del Mar on Oct. 20 in the teams’ Battle of the Bay game. Corona del Mar has won 10 straight in the series.

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​ Orange County Register 

Harbor-UCLA orthopedic supervisor engaged in sexual misconduct with unconscious patients, doctors allege

• October 13, 2023

Three female physicians have filed lawsuits alleging that the former chairman of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center’s Orthopedic Department engaged in sexual misconduct involving unconscious patients, delayed acute surgeries in favor of elective procedures and repeatedly made misogynistic comments to staff.

Dr. Louis Kwong was named in one lawsuit by Drs. Haleh Badkoobehi and Jennifer Hsu, both orthopedic surgeons, and another by Dr. Madonna Fernandez-Frackelton, the hospital’s former director of emergency medicine. Both suits, filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, also name Los Angeles County, which operates the medical center and allegedly ignored the women’s complaints about Kwong.

The women, seeking more than $50,000 in damages, allege myriad employment violations, including retaliation, hostile work environment, harassment, and gender and pregnancy discrimination.

Kwong, who was placed on leave from his position more than a year ago, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Health said Thursday, Oct. 12, that steps were taken to investigate allegations against Kwong soon after the complaints surfaced in 2021. That investigation is nearing completion.

“Should the allegations be substantiated, appropriate corrective actions will be taken,” the DHS said in an email. “It is important to note that civil service rules do not permit any level of discipline against employees until an investigation has concluded. In adhering to these rules, the most an employer can do is place an employee on paid administrative leave until the investigation concludes. The decision to place a civil service employee on administrative leave is not taken lightly.”

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a public teaching hospital and one of two Level 1 trauma centers in the county, also has deep gratitude for “those who courageously stepped forward with their complaints,” DHS said.

Sexual misconduct alleged

The lawsuits contain a string of stunning allegations against Kwong.

Badkoobehi and Hsu allege Kwong committed sexual misconduct on unconscious patients in the Harbor-UCLA operating room in the presence of multiple witnesses. He engaged in “finger-banging” of surgical hip wounds in front of Badkoobehi, while making sexual sounds and saying he was finding the “G-spot,” the lawsuit states.

Additionally, Badkoobehi alleges Kwong undraped an anesthetized patient to look at his penis after being told it was large, and that he measured the penis size of some patients.

“He was also reported to lift the surgical gowns to ‘check under the hood’ to view the size of an unconscious Black male’s penis he had been told was large,” the suit states, adding that management at Harbor-UCLA did not investigate the complaint first reported by a UCLA medical student in 2019.

In another matter dubbed the “baseball incident,” Kwong ordered that a video monitor in the operating room used to measure patients’ vitals be switched off and be used to display a baseball game so that residents could watch during surgery.

After the baseball incident, Kwong allegedly stripped Badkoobehi of her position as associate program director of the Orthopedic Department, a post she had reportedly excelled in for four years.

The lawsuit also alleges Kwong told at least three other physicians that he wanted to get rid of Hsu while she was out on maternity leave by getting her to switch to part-time so he could release her, and force her to work at a much less desirable Los Angeles County hospital.

Fernandez-Frackelton, who served as program director of emergency medicine for 12 years at the 576-bed trauma center was removed from her post after lodging complaints regarding the safety of residents, faculty, and staff, according to her lawsuit.

“The working environment for women doctors at Harbor has become intolerable,” the suit states. “While numerous women enjoyed positions of leadership at Harbor until recently, the administration decided that there were not enough men in leadership roles, andsystemically removed a significant number of them in 2023.”

As a program director, Fernandez-Frackelton oversaw the recruitment and training of 64 resident physicians in a four-year training program in emergency medicine.

The lawsuit states Fernandez-Frackelton received numerous complaints from residents about the sexist, racist, homophobic and antisemitic environment in the Orthopedics Department under Kwong’s leadership.

Physician residents complain

Eventually, all 64 residents filed complaints with Harbor-UCLA’s accrediting body, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Among the complaints were allegations that Kwong and other male physicians in the Orthopedics Department made crude remarks about female physicians, patients and others, the lawsuit states. Kwong also allegedly covered up a complaint that a doctor was having sex with a patient.

When Harbor’s chief executive officer told Kwong not to make comments about female colleagues’ looks, Kwong angrily told a female member of the orthopedics faculty that the CEO was a “weak leader,” says the suit.

Additionally, after a female physician resident reported she had been sexually assaulted in the operating room by a co-worker, Kwong responded that people think Asian men have small genitalia, alleges the complaint.

In another instance, Kwong allegedly discussed how he “cut his ex-wife’s vagina” to get his baby out and had the sound of a dog barking as the ringtone for her calls to his mobile phone. “He offered to give $100,000 to anyone that married his ex-wife so he did not have to pay her alimony,” the suit states.

Kwong also allegedly bragged to faculty and residents about his sexual exploits, including telling them about a woman who put her breast in his face and begged for sex.

The lawsuit states Kwong discussed “autoerotic asphyxiation” in clinics and discussed sex acts during surgeries. Additionally, he allegedly covered up racism, including an incident in which a junior resident called a chief resident the “n” word in a written document.

Kwong also allegedly regularly used the word “fag” to describe homosexuals, and went on to hire a male candidate without even interviewing a female candidate who was gay.

The lawsuit says Kwong gave a semi-annual lecture, for which attendance was required for medical students and residents, in which he used depictions and diagrams of males and females to demonstrate sexual positions to use after hip replacement surgery. During his lecture, Kwong allegedly asked female attendees questions that had nothing to do with orthopedic surgery, such as what sexual positions cause penile fractures.

Fernandez-Frackelton’s suit alleges some residents and interns were required to write notes and prescriptions, including for controlled substances, for patients they had not examined.

Allegedly armed at hospital

Members of the orthopedic faculty and others also complained that Kwong, who is a reserve Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, wore a gun at various times at Harbor-UCLA, including in the operating room, clinic, office and conference rooms, and at times when scrubbed in for surgery.

“Between cases, Dr. Kwong has been witnessed cleaning his gun in the semi-sterile area,” the suit states. “He generally kept his gun in a fanny pack on his waist. Dr. Kwong also made it known that he always carried a knife in his boots at Harbor.”

One physician resident took a widely circulated photograph of Kwong with the gun strapped to his leg in the Orthopedic Surgery Clinic.

Harbor-UCLA medical staff allege Orthepedic Department Chairman Dr. Louis Kwong, left, who is a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reserve deputy, frequently carried a gun at the hospital.

Staff at all medical centers are not allowed to carry weapons or have weapons on medical campuses, the DHS told the Southern California News Group last year after it inquired about the photo.

Limited exceptions to the weapons ban have previously been made in the case of physicians who also serve as reserve deputies and are fully trained to perform law enforcement functions when called on assignment to provide life-saving support.

“Reserve deputy physicians at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center must follow strict safety policies, including proper storage of their handgun in a locked safe box while on medical center premises,” DHS said. “They would not have a firearm on their person during a surgical procedure.”

Meanwhile, Kwong continues to collect about $1 million a year in salary while on administrative leave from Harbor-UCLA, said Carol Gillam, an attorney for the three doctors.

“Harbor-UCLA has covered up and thus perpetuated dangerous and cruel practices in its Orthopedics Department, in a racist, sexist, homophobic environment where Black and brown patients are treated far worse than white patients,” she said. “This story is unfortunately an all-too-familiar one about powerful doctors at prestigious teaching hospitals abusing patients and flaunting their own privileges and connections to the men who are supposed to supervise, discipline and remove them.”

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