California Roadhouse, Inc.
256 Santa Monica Pier, CA 90401
SENT VIA CERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED & EMAIL Date: June 14, 2026
To:
City Attorney’s Office
City of Santa Monica
1685 Main Street, Third Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Email: [email protected]
CC:
Director, Economic Development Department
City of Santa Monica
1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Email: [email protected]
City Manager, City of Santa Monica
Mayor and Members of the Santa Monica City Council
1685 Main Street, Room 209
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] RE: LEGAL NOTICE: REASONABLY FORESEEABLE LITIGATION AND MANDATORY
DEMAND FOR PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE AND ELECTRONICALLY STORED
INFORMATION (ESI)
To the City Attorney and Legal Representatives of the City of Santa Monica:
Please be advised that California Roadhouse, Inc. (“the Company”) is currently anticipating litigation against the City of Santa Monica (“the City”), its Economic Development Department, and certain officials in their individual and official capacities, arising out of illegal labor collusion, coercion, violations of federal labor preemption doctrines, and potential civil rights violations under color of state law.
This letter serves as a formal, mandatory demand that the City of Santa Monica immediately preserve all evidence, including Electronically Stored Information (ESI), physical documents, and tangible items, that are relevant, or may lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, regarding the commercial lease negotiations for the property located at 256 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA 90401
1. Context and Relevancy of Request
This demand arises directly from a meeting held on December 19th, 2025, at the Company’s corporate offices. This meeting was attended by representatives of the Company, Noel Rodiguez acting as an authorized labor organizer representing Unite Here Local 11 (“the Union”), and Wendy Saio from the City’s Economic Development Department.
During this meeting, and in the direct presence and hearing of the City official, the Union representative explicitly stated that the City of Santa Monica has entered into an agreement with the Union to completely block, deny, or refuse to execute any commercial lease with the Company unless the Company surrenders its statutory hiring discretion and agrees to hire a specific pool of individuals— specifically, the entire displaced workforce that was employed at the subject location approximately one year prior, who were union members.
The Union representative further stated that the City agreed it would never lease to the Company unless all of these specific former workers were hired, leaving the Company with zero hiring discretion. The City official present did not dispute, deny, or correct this statement.
2. Mandatory Scope of Evidence to Be Preserved
You are hereby directed to issue an immediate litigation hold to all personnel within the Economic Development Department, the City Manager’s office, the City Council, and any city technology administrators. You must preserve all communications, records, and data spanning from January 1st, 2025 to the present, including but not limited to:
Internal City Communications: All emails, text messages, instant messages (including Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, or text messages on both city-issued and personal devices used for city business) between or among city officials, employees, or council members regarding the Company, the subject property, the displaced workforce, or the lease negotiations. External Communications with Third Parties: All emails, text messages, call logs, and written correspondence between any City of Santa Monica employee/official and any representative, organizer, or agent of Unite Here Local 11 regarding the Company, the former workforce, or the subject lease.
Meeting and Calendar Records: All calendar entries, meeting minutes, agendas, handwritten notes, digital notes, and audio/video recordings relating to the meeting on December 19th, 2025, as well as any other meetings where the Company’s lease or the Union’s workforce retention demands were discussed.
Financial and Campaign Records: All logs, tracking data, or records of political or campaign contributions made by the Union, its affiliates, or its political action committees (PACs) to any elected official or candidate for office in the City of Santa Monica during the designated timeframe.
3. Electronic Data Preservation Requirements
As you are aware, the deletion or modification of data after receipt of a preservation notice constitutes spoliation of evidence, which can result in severe judicial sanctions under California and federal law.
You must immediately suspend all automated deletion, overwriting, or recycling practices of emails, server backups, and text message logs for any individuals involved in this matter.
4. Direct Request for Clarification
To avoid unnecessary litigation, the Company requests that the City Attorney provide a formal, written statement within ten (10) business days confirming or denying whether the City of Santa Monica has conditioned, or intends to condition, the execution of the Company's lease upon the mandatory hiring of a historical pool of former workers, to the exclusion of the Company's statutory hiring discretion.
Please confirm receipt of this notice and verify in writing that an internal litigation hold has been formally issued.
Sincerely,
Sean Ahaus
CEO – California Roadhouse, Inc.
256 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(213) 364-6251