The Del Mar Fairgrounds just got hit with another lawsuit.
Brad Oates is suing the Del Mar Fairgrounds and the 22nd District Agricultural Association for age discrimination, wrongful termination and rest and meal break violations, according to a complaint filed on April 16.
The timing is conspicuous.
Just two days earlier, the Board of Directors that oversees the Fairgrounds abruptly fired CEO Carlene Moore without explanation. Moore is named throughout the new complaint – as well as another relatively recent lawsuit. But it’s unclear if either lawsuit is related to Moore’s termination. A spokesperson for the Fairgrounds declined to comment.
The Complaint
Oates worked as a seasonal carpenter at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for about 10 years, starting around April 2014, the complaint says.
In January 2024, the Fairgrounds had a permanent carpenter position open, so Oates applied for it. He was in good standing with his supervisors and never received any warnings or disciplinary actions in the entire decade that he had been working at the Fairgrounds, according to the complaint.
The application process included a written competency score, which he scored 95 out of 100 on. And two of his supervisors supported hiring Oates for the role.
However, former CEO Moore, rejected his application, overruling the other two supervisors. She allegedly told the two supervisors that Oates was “too old” for the permanent carpenter position, the complaint says. At the time, Oates was 66 years old.
Instead, Moore hired her nephew for the position, according to the complaint. Moore then assigned Oates to train her nephew in the new permanent carpenter role. Around October 2024, Oates “was removed from his seasonal carpenter position entirely,” the complaint says.
Oates also alleges in the complaint that he often did not receive his legally required 10-minute rest breaks, and that his meal breaks were frequently interrupted or cut short.
Moore could not be reached for comment.
This Isn’t the First Time
Last year, former fairgrounds executive Melinda Carmichael also sued the Del Mar Fairgrounds and the 22nd DAA alleging retaliation and a toxic work environment.
Moore was also at the center of that complaint.
In her 2025 complaint, Carmichael stated that, starting in 2022, she repeatedly raised concerns of alleged illegal conduct, racist remarks and other actions by a former human resources director. But Carmichael began to face retaliation for her complaints from Moore, she claims.
Moore allegedly stripped Carmichael of her job responsibilities and resources, excluded her from meetings and planning and eventually terminated Carmichael’s position of chief executive administrator, forcing Carmichael to return to her previous position as a staff services manager.
Carmichael has largely been on disability leave since October 2024, according to a report by the Coast News, and the lawsuit is ongoing.
In 2021, the Fairgrounds and 22nd DAA faced a lawsuit from carnival operator Talley Amusements, which alleged that Moore and Fairgrounds officials rigged a contract process to ensure that a different carnival operator would get the exclusive rights to run the games and rides at the County Fair.
That lawsuit eventually settled in court with the Del Mar Fairgrounds having to pay $500,000 to Talley Amusements.
Moore joined the 22nd DAA as deputy general manager in February 2019 after nine years as CEO of the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga. She became the interim CEO after longtime fairgrounds manager and CEO Timothy Fennell retired in 2020, and then later, she was appointed CEO.
News of her termination came last Tuesday after a closed session 22nd DAA board meeting where board members voted 8-1 to fire Moore as CEO. So far, the Fairgrounds has declined to comment on the reason for Moore’s termination. Board Chair Sam Nejabat was named as the temporary interim CEO. The board said at the time that it plans to re-evaluate the interim position in 10 days, an official told the Union-Tribune.