Judge denies injunction request for now

At the injunction junction Wednesday afternoon, a judge found that stopping Costa Mesa’s outsourcing was not her function.

At least not yet.

For the time being, Orange County Superior Court Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann has denied a request for a temporary court-ordered injunction blocking Costa Mesa’s proposed layoffs of hundreds of city workers.

Saying that the layoffs were still months away and that no one would be immediately affected, Schumann delayed issuing a decision on a court filing by Orange County’s organized labor to stop Costa Mesa’s outsourcing plans. The Orange County Employees’ Assn. filed a complaint in civil court Monday seeking an immediate, temporary restraining order against Costa Mesa that would rescind layoff notices already handed out.

If the notices were rescinded, the six-month clock from when workers were notified to when they could be laid off would restart.

Schumann will hear the case July 5.

—Joseph Serna