On June 20, 2014, plaintiff Bill Kalivas, a part time wrestling and golf coach in his 60s, sent an email to his supervisor, Sandi Taylor, the athletics director at Bakersfield College, where Kalivas worked. In the email, he expressed concern for the health of his wrestlers and the coaching staff. Kalivas claimed that the mats were unsafe and allegedly contained mold. He also claimed that he was worried that the wrestlers would be infected with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) due to the conditions of the mats. In addition, Kalivas brought up the area where the wrestlers practiced — in a balcony area of the Bakersfield College gym, which only had a rail separating it from the gym floor, where basketball games were played. Kalivas thought the practice area was unsafe, as the wrestlers could possibly fall over the rail, and he stated in his email that he believed that the college was opening itself up to possible litigation because of the unsanitary conditions and unsafe practice location. Taylor did not respond to the email. Instead, Zav Dadabhoy, Bakersfield College’s vice president of student services who oversaw athletics at the time, sent an email response to Kalivas later that day. In the email, Dadabhoy claimed that he “completely disagreed” with Kalivas’ allegations. He also accused Kalivas of attacking Taylor and throwing a “temper tantrum” in response to the possibility of litigation. He further claimed that Kalivas’ attitude “…does not belong in a team oriented academic department.” In addition, Dadabhoy sent a draft of another email to Kalivas to Ibrahim “Abe” Ali, the vice chancellor for human resources for the Kern Community College District, for review. In that email, Dadabhoy described Kalivas’ attitude toward Taylor as “disruptive” and “hostile,” and stated that Kalivas’ actions made it unlikely that he “would approve offering [Kalivas] an adjunct coaching position in the future.” Ali responded to Dadabhoy’s email by stating that the issues needed to be split and that Taylor needed to be the one to inform Kalivas that he would not be returning as the wrestling coach. He then sent another email to Dadabhoy on July 10, 2014, stating that they should “protect Sandi by supporting her decision to offer this adjunct coaching assignment to someone else.” Shortly thereafter, on July 10, 2014, Taylor informed Kalivas that a new wrestling coach was to be hired and that Bakersfield College would not offer Kalivas a new contract. Kalivas sued his employer, Kern Community College District; Dadabhoy; Ali; and Taylor. Kalivas alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted violations of the labor and education codes, as well as a violation of his First Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff’s counsel presented copies of the emails and other written documentation between Bakersfield College’s administrators. Counsel argued that Kalivas was retaliated against and wrongfully terminated for whistleblowing. Counsel further argued that the administrators retaliated against Kalivas for asserting his First Amendment right to speak out about matters of a public concern. The court ultimately removed the 1983 claim via a directed verdict. Ali testified that there was no discriminatory reason to sever relations with Kalivas and that there were proper grounds for Kalivas’ contract not being renewed. Defense counsel noted that Kalivas was an at-will, part-time, non-tenured employee of Bakersfield College who could be terminated at any time. Counsel contended that at the same time, prior to his contract renewal with Bakersfield College in 2014, Kalivas retired from his full-time employment with the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office and that as a result, Kalivas was to receive retirement benefits from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). Accordingly, Kalivas could not work for six months after his retirement and also receive CalSTRS retirement benefits from Bakersfield College. Defense counsel contended that as a result, Kalivas informed administrators in April 2014 that he would no longer be at Bakersfield College “effective August 1,” but that he wanted to come back in six months. Counsel argued that based on Kalivas’ notification, a decision had to be made as to whether to rehire Kalivas when he returned, but that there were numerous instances in which Kalivas had been disrespectful to Taylor, who was relatively new to her position. Defense counsel further contended that Taylor thought Kalivas was not doing a good job and that Taylor already did not want to hire Kalivas back, but that her position had nothing to do with the two issues that Kalivas brought up. In addition, counsel contended that, in the time that Kalivas was gone, Taylor wanted the program to move in a new direction and found another coach, who did very well. As to Kalivas’ safety allegations, defense counsel contended that no one had contracted MRSA from the mats and that Bakersfield College put mats and barriers near the balcony rail, and did what Moorpark College did with its practice area. In response, Kalivas claimed that Taylor told him that he could continue at Bakersfield College, despite the CalSTRS issue. However, Taylor denied ever saying anything of the sort, and no one else witnessed the alleged interaction., Kalivas claimed that he was Bakersfield College’s wrestling coach for 27 years and that he also coached golf at the college from 2010 until 2014. During that time, Bakersfield College won more than 200 dual meets and was the state champion in 2002 and 2003. In addition, Bakersfield College fell half a point short of winning a state title in 2004, and Kalivas was selected statewide coach of the year twice and national coach of the year once. Kalivas claimed that his reputation with the community was ruined as a result of his termination. He alleged that as a result, he suffers from emotional distress and mental anguish. Kalivas claimed that as a result, he went to his physician to obtain a prescription medicine for sleeplessness. Thus, Kalivas sought recovery of $400,000 in lost income, and unspecified damages for his emotional distress and mental anguish. He also sought recovery of plus punitive damages and attorney fees. Defense counsel acknowledged that Kalivas presented to a physician and was prescribed anti-anxiety medication. However, counsel argued that Kalivas stopped taking the medication.