Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 1 of 20 1 THERESE Y. CANNATA (SBN 88032) KIMBERLY A. ALMAZAN (SBN 288605) 2 CANNATA, O’TOOLE, FICKES & ALMAZAN LLP 100 Pine Street, Suite 350 3 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 409-8900 4 Facsimile: (415) 409-8904 Email: [email protected] 5 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 6 IRVINE H. LEEN and ALETA LEEN 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA P L L 11 N 4 IRVINE H. LEEN and ALETA LEEN, CASE NO. 2:12-CV-01627-TLN-CMK A 0 AZ 89 12 M 019- Plaintiffs, ,F&AOOLE ICKES LALTTORNEYS AT AWPine Street, Suite 35Francisc o, CA9411 09-8900F:(415)40P AX 11113456 HMLinAAcIClNRuHsEOiA,vL vaeED.n,L iM nRd.A iTvMiHdSOuEaMlY; Aa, naSdn, aDinnOd iinEvdSidi vu1ia-d2lu;0 aJ,lO; HN FD__OA__UM_R_A_TG_H_E_ AS__;M _D_EE_N_M_D_A_EN_D_D_ C_ F_OO_M_R_P_ J_LU_A_R_IY_N_ T_T_ RF_O_IA_R/L O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 Defendants. NA TE 18 ___________________________________/ N A C 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 2 of 20 1 Plaintiffs Irvine H. Leen and Aleta Leen allege for this Complaint herein as follows: 2 THE PARTIES 3 1. Plaintiffs Irvine Leen and Aleta Leen are, and at all relevant times mentioned 4 herein were, residents of the County of Butte, California. 5 2. Plaintiffs are informed and believe that defendant Harold M. Thomas (“Mr. 6 Thomas”) is, and was at all times mentioned in this complaint, an employee of the California 7 Department of Fish and Wildlife, which was formerly known as the California Department of Fish 8 & Game, and that Mr. Thomas is also an employee and/or agent of the Butte County District 9 Attorney’s Office. Plaintiffs are informed and believe that Mr. Thomas reports to the California 10 State Bar his current business address to be 1416 - 9th Street, Sacramento, California, which is the P L L 11 Sacramento office of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Plaintiffs are informed and N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 believe, based on budget disclosures to the Butte County Board of Supervisors, that the California M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 Department of Fish and Wildlife pays the primary part of Mr. Thomas’s salary (over $100,000 per ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 ywehairc)h. iTs htea gDgiesdtr aicst aA stttioprennedy ’fso rO hfifsic ter,a nbsyp coorntattriaosnt, cpoasytss .a bMoru.t T$h8o,0m0a0s tios Mnarm. Tedh oinm hasis e iancdhi vyiedaura,l OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 capacity. O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 3. Plaintiffs are informed and believe that defendant Michael Ramsey (“Mr. NA TE 18 Ramsey”) is the Butte County District Attorney, as well as an employee of that office. He was N A C 19 and remains Mr. Thomas’s supervisor, he had direct and indirect knowledge of his employee’s 20 misconduct, and he specifically authorized and directed said conduct. He thereby directly and 21 specifically engaged in acts that violated plaintiffs’ constitutional rights, including property 22 interests. Mr. Ramsey is named in his individual capacity. 23 4. Plaintiffs are informed and believe that defendant John Lane (“Mr. Lane”) is, and 24 was at all times mentioned in this complaint, an agent of Mr. Thomas, Mr. Ramsey, the Butte 25 County District Attorney’s Office and/or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Mr. 26 Lane is named in his individual capacity because he facilitated, aided, and abetted the unlawful 27 conduct of Mr. Thomas. 28 5. Sometime in 2012, the California Department of Fish and Game changed its - 1 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 3 of 20 1 official name to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Throughout this complaint, this 2 state agency shall be referred to as “CDFW” or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 3 6. Plaintiffs are ignorant of the true names and capacities of defendants sued as Does 4 1 through 20, inclusive, and therefore sue these defendants by such fictitious names. Plaintiffs 5 will amend this complaint to allege their true names and capacities when ascertained. 6 7. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and thereon allege that at all times herein 7 mentioned, defendants, including the Doe defendants, and each of them, were agents, servants, 8 alter egos and/or employees of their defendants, and in doing the things hereinafter alleged, were 9 acting within the scope of their authority as agents, servants, and employees, and with the 10 permission and consent of their co-defendants. P L L 11 JURISDICTION AND VENUE N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 8. Plaintiffs Irvine Leen and Aleta Leen are residents of Oroville, California, which is M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 located in Butte County. ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 Sacrame9n.to, CaDlieffoernndiaa.n tD Mefre. nTdhaonmtsa Ms irs. aL acniteiz aennd o Mf trh. eR Satmatsee yo fa Crea cliiftoizrennias aonf dth ree sSidtaetse ionf or near OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 California and reside in or near Butte County, California. O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 10. The claims and events referenced in this complaint occurred in or arose from NA TE 18 Oroville, County of Butte, State of California. N A C 19 11. This case is subject to the unlimited jurisdiction of the Superior Court in that the 20 amount in controversy exceeds $50,000. 21 12. This case was removed by defendants Mr. Thomas, Mr. Lane, and Mr. Ramsey to 22 the United States District Court, Eastern District of California on or about June 18, 2012. 23 GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 24 An Overview 25 13. Plaintiff Irvine Leen is a farmer and a rancher. He grazes his cattle on portions of 26 real property (the “Property”) that he owns with his wife, plaintiff Aleta Leen. The Property is 27 located in Oroville, California. An irrigation ditch runs through the Property, which is principally 28 fed from agricultural runoff flowing from properties upstream (the “Irrigation Ditch”). Plaintiffs - 2 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 4 of 20 1 have a License for the Diversion and Use of Water (the “Water License”) issued and/or overseen 2 by the California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights (“SWRCB”). 3 The Water License allows for the diversion of water from the Irrigation Ditch for the purpose of 4 irrigating the Property. 5 14. In or about the summer of 2002, Mr. Leen’s neighbor, Frank Green, cleared out 6 debris (e.g., old bicycles, tires, car batteries, cans, bottles) and brush from the Irrigation Ditch. At 7 the time, the water in the Irrigation Ditch was very low, and had insufficient flow to continue on 8 past the Leens’ property lines. As such, it had no connectivity, at the time, with other downstream 9 waterways. When the brush was cleared away, Mr. Green placed matting along the banks to 10 prevent erosion. In the turn of one season, the Irrigation Ditch vegetation returned. P L L 11 15. In or about October 2002, a CDFW deputy reported observations of persons N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 clearing out debris and brush from the Irrigation Ditch. On the eve of the expiration of the statute M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 of limitations, on October 15, 2003, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Ramsey filed a criminal complaint ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 aingcaliundset dM trh.e L uenelna wfofru cl loebasrtirnugc otiuotn g oafr baa sgtere aanmd, dfaebilriinsg f rtoo mob tthaein I rar isgtaretiaomn bDeidt cahlt. e rTahtieo nch paerrgmesit, OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 depositing silt into the Irrigation Ditch such that it is deleterious to fish, plants or bird life, and O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 trespass. Mr. Leen accepted pretrial diversion in October 2004, on the understanding that he had NA TE 18 no water license rights and that he needed to work with CDFW to restore historical waterways and N A C 19 wetlands on his Property. Thus, the criminal case proceedings were suspended from October 20 2004 to August 2006. From August 2006 to January 2010, Mr. Leen was engulfed in court 21 proceedings in an effort to reinstate his plea of not guilty and proceed to trial on the criminal 22 charges. In or about March 2011, after Mr. Thomas had exhausted all appeals opposing Mr. 23 Leen’s right to try his case to jury, the matter proceeded to trial. On March 10, 2011, a jury in the 24 criminal case delivered a verdict of not guilty on all charges. 25 16. Despite Mr. Leen’s acquittal in the criminal case, Mr. Thomas attempted to 26 misuse his authority as a regulator (i.e., an employee of CDFW) to convince the SWRCB to 27 unlawfully withhold and restrain plaintiffs’ rights under the Water License. Plaintiffs were simply 28 trying to obtain a routine amendment to the Water License (i.e., adjusting the point of diversion - 3 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 5 of 20 1 (“POD”)), as is common in agricultural uses of man-made irrigation waterways. However, Mr. 2 Thomas still opposed the issuance of the amendment without ever presenting a rational basis for 3 doing so. As a result, from approximately April 2011 to February 2013, plaintiffs had to engage 4 counsel and expend still further funds to convince the SWRCB to complete a process started back 5 in 2008 and purportedly stayed pending the outcome of the criminal case. That effort resulted in 6 the filing of this lawsuit in May 2012. Still, Mr. Thomas continued to use his influence and 7 access to regulatory agencies to obstruct and delay plaintiffs’ efforts to obtain this simple 8 amendment. 9 17. Since the commencement of this action, plaintiffs have resolved all disputes with 10 the regulatory agencies (SWRCB and CDFW). On February 6, 2013, the SWRCB issued to P L L 11 plaintiffs an amendment to their Water License. This concluded a long regulatory nightmare for N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 plaintiffs, whereby they were threatened with regulatory penalties and criminal prosecution if they M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 used or attempted to maintain the Irrigation Ditch. Plaintiffs settled with both SWRCB and ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 CDFW 1(e8x.ceptT ahse t oc lcaliamims sth aagt arienmsta iitns peemrtpaliony teoe aM cro.n Tshtiotumtiaosn)a. l injury, for the period of March OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 2011 when Mr. Leen was acquitted of the criminal charges and potentially concluding in or about O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 February 2013 (assuming Mr. Thomas does not resume his pursuit of plaintiffs). Because Mr. NA TE 18 Thomas was, and is, both a prosecutor and a state regulator, he possessed unique powers and N A C 19 access. Aided and abetted by the other defendants remaining in this action, Mr. Thomas has 20 abused those powers by opposing the proposed amendment to the Water License without a 21 rational basis and certainly without any prosecutorial purpose. He was relentless, refusing to 22 acknowledge the clear evidence that his environmental restoration theories were wrong, that there 23 was nothing to restore based on aerial photographs dating back to the 1940s and that plaintiffs had 24 done nothing illegal or improper in the use and maintenance of their Irrigation Ditch. At all 25 relevant times, Mr. Thomas’s unlawful conduct was open and known, ratified, and supported by 26 his supervisor, Mr. Ramsey. Minimal supervision and review of Mr. Thomas’s actions would 27 have prevented much of the harm suffered by plaintiffs. 28 // - 4 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 6 of 20 1 The Criminal Action 2 19. Plaintiffs’ troubles started in the summer of 2002, when they did what many 3 owners of agricultural property do – they cleared away debris and brush. The Irrigation Ditch in 4 this case was particularly troublesome because the property adjacent to the ditch had been used for 5 outdoor concerts by the prior owners, leaving behind an accumulation of garbage. There was also 6 an abandoned beaver dam. The combination of these objects obstructed the flow of water and 7 caused it to be dispersed away from the Irrigation Ditch. The month of August was the best time 8 for this project because the water flow was reduced to a mere trickle and there was no 9 connectivity to downstream water on other properties. Finally, there were no fish in the Irrigation 10 Ditch aside from mosquito fish that were planted in local waterways by the County as mosquito P L L 11 abatement, and these fish were expected to die off or be eaten by animals during the summer N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 months. Thus, plaintiffs were removing obstructions and they did so at a time when it would be M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 physically impossible to cause harm to fish in the Irrigation Ditch or downstream. ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 initiated2 0cr.iminTalh ipsr omcaetetderin wgsa,s ainndit iaamteodn bgy t ha ec ictoantitoenn tiisosnuse din b tyh aCt DcaFsWe w. aMs rt.h Tath tohme ams atnh-emreaadfteer OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 Irrigation Ditch was a natural waterway, and that clearing the debris out of the ditch was an O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 impermissible “streambed alteration.” In addition, Mr. Thomas charged that Mr. Leen illegally NA TE 18 deposited silt into the Irrigation Ditch, which potentially harmed fish in the waterway or N A C 19 downstream. Mr. Thomas also contended that Mr. Leen did not have a water right or water 20 license, and that he therefore unlawfully diverted water through his Irrigation Ditch. 21 21. Believing that he did not possess a water license, Mr. Leen agreed in August 2004 22 to pretrial diversion, which meant that criminal proceedings would be suspended and Mr. Leen 23 would work with CDFW to prepare and implement a “Restoration Plan” for the Property. This 24 Restoration Plan would restore allegedly natural waterways and wetlands. Upon successful 25 completion of the conditions of pretrial diversion, the criminal charges would be dismissed. 26 22. For the next two years, and at considerable expense, plaintiffs hired consultants 27 and experts, and tried without success to respond to the claims and demands interposed by Mr. 28 Thomas. The precise nature of the natural and historic conditions on the Property was among the - 5 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 7 of 20 1 issues addressed by plaintiffs’ consultants. Mr. Leen and his consultants tried repeatedly to 2 demonstrate to Mr. Thomas, Mr. Ramsey, and Mr. Lane that they were wrong on this point. Mr. 3 Leen and his consultants demonstrated this by reference to historical photographs dating back 4 many decades. These photographs demonstrated that the Irrigation Ditch had been in place since 5 before the 1940s and that there was no water flowing in the areas that Mr. Thomas and others 6 contended were the natural waterways, now removed due to the alleged illegal diversion by Mr. 7 Leen. The most concise record of this explanation is in the transcript of proceedings on March 8 8 and 9, 2011, which memorializes the testimony of Mr. Leen’s expert, Damon Brown, who 9 qualified at the criminal trial as an expert in hydrogeology. Mr. Lane was present in court during 10 this testimony, both to assist Mr. Thomas and to potentially testify as a rebuttal witness. Mr. P L L 11 Brown meticulously explained, using historical aerial photographs going back over 60 years, that N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 there was no geological evidence of these so-called natural braids or historical wetlands. In fact, M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 the Irrigation Ditch, which Mr. Thomas claimed was created by plaintiffs’ alleged illegal ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 oaebrsitarlu pcthiootno ganradp/ohrs ddiavteinrsgi obna cokf two a1te9r4f7lo. w N (oatnadb lteh einre efaocrhe npeheodtoedg rtaop hb ei sr ethmeo avbesde)n, cceo uolfd a bney sseigenn oinf OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 waterways in the area in which the so-called natural waterways once flowed and now needed to be O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 “restored.” Mr. Thomas presented no expert testimony at that trial, nor did he provide any NA TE 18 admissible evidence of the so-called natural and historic conditions on the Property. N A C 19 23. On June 29, 2006, Mr. Leen received a letter from the SWRCB informing him that 20 he did, in fact, enjoy water rights on his Property. Based on this information, which meant that 21 there was nothing to restore and, more importantly, that the proposed Restoration Plan advocated 22 by Mr. Thomas and those assisting him would deprive him of a vested property right, Mr. Leen 23 went to court and asked to be relieved of his obligations under the pretrial diversion agreement. 24 Mr. Leen was prepared to go to trial to prove his case. This motion in the criminal case unleashed 25 a firestorm of activity from Mr. Thomas and his colleagues. 26 24. From 2006 through January 2011, Mr. Thomas filed multiple writs and appeals in 27 an effort to block Mr. Leen from proceeding to trial in the criminal case, as was his right as a 28 prosecutor. Concurrently during this period, Mr. Thomas and his colleagues contacted the - 6 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 8 of 20 1 SWRCB (an outside regulatory agency) on multiple occasions about Mr. Leen – a practice that the 2 Honorable William Lamb, Mr. Leen’s criminal court judge, stated left him feeling “a little 3 queasy.” Strikingly, even after the jury in the criminal case acquitted Mr. Leen on all charges and 4 the criminal case was forever closed, Mr. Thomas continued, directly and through those he 5 enlisted to assist him, to stall and disrupt the decision-making process of the SWRCB. 6 Plaintiffs’ Application for an Amended Water License 7 25. After plaintiffs received word from the SWRCB in June 2006 that they had a 8 lawfully-issued and valid Water License, plaintiffs noticed that the POD and place of use (“POU”) 9 were not accurately listed on their Water License. To remedy this, plaintiffs were informed that 10 they needed to request a routine correction to their Water License to clarify the POD and POU. P L L 11 Plaintiffs are informed and believe that such requests are typically processed administratively and N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 without delay because they seek clarification and updating of the placement of irrigation. In 2007, M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 the SWRCB twice sent a representative to the Property to investigate plaintiffs’ request. The ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 SalWmoRsCt Ba mreiprrroesr einmtaatgiev eo fa gwreheadt awcittuha lpllya ienxtiisftfesd a nimd pfloyuinndg tthhaatt “ththeere o mrigayin haal vPeO bUe edne sacnr ieprtrioorn i nw tahse OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 transcription of the original data.” In or about January 2008, the SWRCB administratively O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 approved that request after making a site inspection, and issued an “Order Correcting the NA TE 18 Description of the Point of Diversion and the Place of Use, Adding or Updating Standard License N A C 19 Terms, and Issuing Amended License” and “Amended License for Diversion and Use of Water.” 20 26. Thereafter, though, on February 14, 2008, John O’Hagan (“Mr. O’Hagan”), an 21 employee with the SWRCB, wrote to plaintiffs, stating that the information provided to him by 22 Mr. Thomas and Mr. Lane showed that the POD was “new.” Mr. Thomas was listed as a copyee 23 on that letter. Plaintiffs, through their attorney, attempted to set the record straight. They were 24 not, however, provided access to much of the evidence (e.g., certain mocked-up aerial depictions 25 of their Property) that Mr. Thomas and Mr. Lane had provided to the SWRCB. In addition, Mr. 26 O’Hagan refused to grant plaintiffs an extension of time to respond to the claims by Mr. Thomas, 27 et al., which was requested because plaintiffs were attending Ms. Leen’s father’s funeral. 28 // - 7 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 9 of 20 1 27. On April 14, 2008, Mr. O’Hagan wrote a letter confirming that the SWRCB had 2 rescinded its earlier order correcting the Water License. In the same letter, Mr. O’Hagan declined 3 to meet with plaintiffs and directed that if they wished to maintain the Water License, they were 4 required to file a petition to change the license. 5 28. At proceedings on April 23, 2008, the judge then assigned to Mr. Leen’s criminal 6 case, the Honorable William Lamb, expressed concern about Mr. Thomas’s attempt to interfere 7 with Mr. Leen’s regulatory proceedings, stating the following: 8 Unfortunately, and perhaps even ironically, that’s what makes this 9 all of the more disturbing because if the amended water right had 10 been perfected, the [P]eople could still have argued that it had no P L L 11 bearing on the violations and the sentence in this case. If that’s true, N 4 A 0 AZ 89 12 there is even less reason for you to step outside your duties in this M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 case and to contact an independent agency and try to influence their ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 rIte glouolaktso lriyk de,e ctois aionn o obnje acnti vises oube stehravte hr,a das n iof tyhoinug w toe rdeo p wuristhu itnhgi st hciasse. OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 contact for the purpose of harming the interests of the defendant for O’T 00 an 5)4 ,TA 1 S:(41L 17 reasons that had nothing to do with this case. It could be interpreted NA TE 18 that way by an objective member of the public that maybe didn’t N A C 19 understand all of the facts. And that’s why they have rules about 20 using power and influence, of you, as prosecutor, or if the court did 21 it as a judge, to interfere with other outside proceedings that really 22 have nothing to do with the business at hand that we are engaged in 23 in the course of this trial. 24 As referenced above, Judge Lamb also went on to say, “I am just saying there is something about 25 this that makes me a little queasy . . . .” 26 29. The Leens thereafter filed the Petition for Change of Point of Diversion and Place 27 of Use (“Petition for Change”), which required an $1,850.00 fee, essentially because they had no 28 other choice in the matter. A prerequisite to having any water rights at all in the future was tied to - 8 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 2:12-cv-01627-TLN-CMK Document 113 Filed 09/17/15 Page 10 of 20 a determination that plaintiffs had a valid water license running with the land. Thus, the Leens 1 filed their Petition for Change in June 2008, which the SWRCB simply ignored for an entire year. 2 30. At the time that all of this was happening with the SWRCB, a further consequence 3 of not completing pretrial diversion was that the trial court would take a no contest plea, which 4 was conditionally entered and not accepted by the trial court back in 2004, and enter it as a final 5 conviction. Mr. Thomas obtained his conviction and demanded as the sentence that Mr. Leen 6 submit to all of the terms and conditions of the “restoration” of the apocryphal historical, natural 7 waterways. The court, however, started but did not ever finish the sentencing hearing. Instead, 8 Judge Lamb imposed a probationary sentence, but stayed all terms and conditions pending Mr. 9 Leen’s appeal of the conviction, which triggered a series of appeals, writs and remands, lasting 10 P L three years (from April 2008 to January 2011). By the time Mr. Leen eventually appeared for his L 11 N 4 AZA 890 12 first day of trial in March 2011, he had made over 70 court appearances in the criminal case. M 019- &A L Wte 35941115)40 13 31. Meanwhile, to the detriment of plaintiffs, the SWRCB placed the Petition for ,FE ICKES LRNEYS AT AStreet, Suicisc o, CA 00F:(4P AX 1145 Canhda npglaei nbtaicffks owne hreo ldde pforirv tehde onfe xtht etiwr ou syee aanrsd, penenjodyimnge ntht eo of uthtceo Imrreig oaft itohne Dcriitmchi.n al proceedings, OOLATTOPine Fran09-89 16 Defendants’ Wrongful Acts After the Acquittal in March 2011 O’T 00 an 5)4 32. On March 10, 2011, the jury reached its verdict – Mr. Leen was acquitted on all ,ATA 1 S:(41EL 17 charges. Separate and apart from the criminal prosecution and continuing after the final N T 18 N A C conclusion of the criminal proceedings, Mr. Thomas, assisted by Mr. Lane and authorized by Mr. 19 Ramsey, engaged in a course of conduct intended to restrict and interfere with plaintiffs’ use and 20 enjoyment of the Property, to wit their use of the Irrigation Ditch and their water rights. Said 21 defendants, and each of them, after Mr. Leen’s acquittal, acted under color of state authority to 22 maliciously and wrongfully cause a rescission of or otherwise invalidate the duly issued amended 23 Water License and to thereafter delay and obstruct all other administrative remedies available to 24 plaintiffs to resolve this water rights issue. Mr. Thomas further made it clear that he would 25 aggressively prosecute Mr. Leen or anyone acting with him if he used, repaired, or maintained his 26 Irrigation Ditch prior to a resolution of the water rights licensing issue – which Mr. Thomas 27 worked behind the scenes to delay and obstruct. 28 - 9 - FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT