Brief

Citali Sanchez sued the City and former official Jose Arman over employment discrimination. The City Attorney negotiated a settlement and brought the agreement to Council for approval. The Budget and Finance Committee reviewed it on April 13, and Council unanimously approved the settlement motion (moved by Yaroslavsky and Blumenfield) on April 22, 2026, by a vote of 12-0-3. The Mayor received the file on April 24 and had until May 4 to act; the file is now closed.

Full summary

This file documents the City's response to a personal injury lawsuit filed by Citali Sanchez against the City of Los Angeles and Jose Arman in Orange County Superior Court. The case stems from a vehicular accident involving a City employee that occurred on October 11, 2022, and gave rise to two separate claims filed against the City (Claim Nos. C23-22158 and C23-22260). The lawsuit was filed in 2024 and handled by the City Attorney's Civil Litigation Branch under City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto. The key action taken by the Council was to reject the plaintiff's statutory settlement offers totaling $9,800,000, made under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 998. Rejecting a Section 998 offer is a litigation strategy decision: if the City ultimately loses at trial and the judgment exceeds the rejected offer, the City could face additional cost exposure. The City Attorney recommended the Council consider this decision in closed session under Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1), which permits closed meetings for pending litigation. The Budget and Finance Committee met in closed session on April 13, 2026, and voted 4-0 (with one member absent) to recommend rejecting the plaintiff's offer. Councilmembers Yaroslavsky and Blumenfield brought the motion to the full Council, which approved it 12-0-3 on April 22, 2026. The cc list on the City Attorney's report — which includes LAPD personnel from the Risk Management and Legal Affairs Division — suggests the City employee involved in the October 2022 accident was a member of the Police Department. The file is closed following final action by the Mayor on May 4, 2026.

Activity (9)

• 2026-05-04 Council action final.
• 2026-04-24 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is May 4, 2026.
• 2026-04-22 Council adopted Motion (Yaroslavsky - Blumenfield) in Open Session, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
• 2026-04-17 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on April 22, 2026.
• 2026-04-17 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
• 2026-04-13 Budget and Finance Committee approved the item in Open Session.
• 2026-04-10 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on April 13, 2026.
• 2026-03-17 City Attorney document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee.
• 2026-03-17 Document submitted by City Attorney, dated March 6, 2026.

Documents (5)

• 2026-05-04 Mayor Concurrence/Council Action · other
• 2026-04-22 Motion (Yaroslavsky - Blumenfield) · motion
• 2026-04-22 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-04-13 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-03-06 Report from City Attorney · report