On March 3, 2011, plaintiff Richard Denton, a utility analyst for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, emailed his supervisor, John Doyle, about alleged lighting problems with a city traffic tunnel that he had worked on. In the email, Denton stated that the lighting was too bright, and he proposed corrective measures. Although Doyle denied Denton’s allegations of there being any defects, he attempted to implement Denton’s suggested "fix," but the proposed solution failed. Denton claimed that as a result, Doyle retaliated against him by denying him promotions and new work assignments. He also claimed that Doyle retaliated by denying him a reasonable accommodation request for a medical issue. Denton filed an anonymous whistleblower retaliation claim with the operator of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the City and County of San Francisco. However, he claimed he suffered further retaliation after he submitted the claim. Denton sued Doyle; two of his other supervisors, Barbara Hale and Lori Mitchell; and his employer, the City and County of San Francisco. Denton alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted whistleblower retaliation, failure to accommodate a disability, physical disability discrimination, defamation and a creation of a hostile work environment. Permanente Medical Group Inc., doing business as Kaiser Permanente Northern California, was originally also named as a defendant. Denton alleged that the medical group released his confidential medical information to his employer without his permission and that his employer used that information to deny him accommodation. However, Permanente Medical Group agreed to settle for a confidential amount early in the litigation. The city’s counsel denied all of Denton’s claims, and asserted that Denton never suffered a legally viable adverse employment action., Denton claimed that he received great reviews for his work until he persistently attempted to get the alleged defects at the tunnel fixed. He alleged that after that, he was retaliated against and suffered emotional distress from the events. He also alleged that he suffered a loss of pay from possible work advancements. Denton sought recovery of lost earnings and damages for his emotional pain and suffering.