Judge orders Costa Mesa Councilwoman Foley to pay $4,000 in sanctions in her work as an attorney

Katrina Foley, a lawyer and Costa Mesa councilwoman, was ordered last week along with one of her clients to pay $4,000 in sanctions to attorneys representing Orange County after a judge ruled that her client’s mental health records should be released to the opposing counsel.

Foley, an employment attorney, represents Jeanette Norombaba-Petersen, an Orange County social worker who filed a lawsuit in 2015 against the county alleging that she became ill from a “toxic chemical” known as perchloroethylene that apparently was found in a county office building.

Norombaba-Petersen’s suit alleges her bosses refused to allow her to transfer to another work site and retaliated against her because of her requests. The county has denied the allegations.

In August, an attorney for the county asked Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin to require Norombaba-Petersen to undergo an independent mental examination as part of discovery, or evidence collection, in the case. The county alleged in its filing that she has “a well-documented, long, preexisting history of anxiety, stress and emotional distress unrelated to the workplace.”

The filing also accused Foley of failing to turn over Norombaba-Petersen’s medical records in a timely fashion, and it asked the judge to issue monetary sanctions against her.

On Nov. 8, Griffin ruled in favor of the county, ordering that Norombaba-Petersen’s mental health records be released and granting the county $4,000 in sanctions. The sanctions are meant to compensate the county’s attorneys for the time they spent seeking the records, according to court documents.

“I have a duty to zealously advocate for my clients, and I take that obligation very seriously,” Foley said in a statement Wednesday. “This discovery dispute arose from an issue of medical privacy, which is a principle worth fighting over. Discovery disputes are common in civil litigation, as are monetary discovery sanctions.”

Foley will not be required to report the sanctions to the bar, according to state law.

Foley was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1996 and has no disciplinary record, according to the bar, which manages the admission of lawyers to legal practice, investigates complaints of professional misconduct and prescribes appropriate discipline.

The night before Griffin’s ruling, Foley was removed from her seat as Costa Mesa’s mayor after the City Council voted 3-2 to elevate member Sandy Genis to the position and name member Allan Mansoor as mayor pro tem. Councilman John Stephens joined Foley in opposing the changes.

The council appointed Foley as mayor last December. She has been on the council since 2014 and also was elected to the panel in 2004 and 2008.

Councilman Jim Righeimer, a political opponent of Foley’s, led the push to replace her and asked the city attorney to investigate her activities as mayor. Righeimer did not specify why he called for the probe.

Foley contends her work as an attorney is entirely separate from her position on the City Council.

“I always separate my advocacy for my clients from my obligations to the city of Costa Mesa,” she wrote in her statement. “The discovery order at issue has nothing to do with my work on the City Council.”

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN