Harrigan Leyh Wins Dismissal of Claims against the State of Washington
On January 9, the State of Washington represented by Timothy Leyh, Randall Thomsen, and Shane Cramer prevailed at the United States District Court in a lawsuit against the State of Washington where the plaintiff alleged the State violated her civil rights, maliciously prosecuted her, and caused her to be falsely imprisoned.
In 2015, the State brought criminal charges against the plaintiff for tax fraud, employee wage theft, and other crimes. The State later dismissed the criminal charges against the plaintiff. In 2018, the plaintiff sued the State contending that it pursued criminal charges against her in violation of her civil rights and without probable cause. She sought several million dollars in damages.
Representing the State, Harrigan Leyh investigated the matter and brought a motion for summary judgment. In January, the federal judge granted the State’s motion and dismissed the plaintiff’s case in its entirety. The court held that the plaintiff failed to offer any evidence that the State acted maliciously or without probable cause. Rather, it concluded that the State’s original prosecution was based on a reasonable interpretation of the evidence available to the State at the time.