If he had any cojones he'd be suing the government, not the employees.
I would imagine this happened because the developer's lawyer neglected to research the matter to discover that the government generally will provide legal counsel to it's employees (or witnesses or contractors) who are sued by third parties in such cases.
This happens. I've been hit with bluebacked paper right at my desk which I simply forwarded up through channels to counsel. Never thought about it again. There is, of course, a never-ending supply of stupid lawyers who will keep trying this trick in the hope that a federal judge can be tricked.
Most government bureaucrats are pricks who see the public as impinging on their comfort. They will use capricious reasoning to block any reasonable development effort. Equal parts nimbyism and laziness. Property rights and tradition don't even enter the mix.
The project calls for 132 condo units, a marina and tennis courts. Developers plan to raze more than 300 pine trees that provide winter shelter to the bald eagle, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act.
From what I've read, that is an assertion by the Eliasons that has since been disproven.
If he had any cojones he'd be suing the government, not the employees.
From what I know of this case, they deserve it, richly. This guy did everything imagineable and then some to produce a product that would enhance environmental quality, including habitat restoration projects on property he otherwise could have developed. IIRC, he's been held up for nearly sixteen years.
I would imagine this happened because the developer's lawyer neglected to research the matter to discover that the government generally will provide legal counsel to it's employees (or witnesses or contractors) who are sued by third parties in such cases.
Building your case upon imaginings? That's pretty desperate and, in this case, dead wrong.
There is, of course, a never-ending supply of stupid lawyers who will keep trying this trick in the hope that a federal judge can be tricked.
BS, again. Most lawyers and developers know better than to take on a bureaucracy with virtually infinite funding, but this guy is at the end of his rope.
Regulatory takings with corruption involved are becoming extremely common. It's high time RICO was employed, as I recommended over five years ago. I know of one recent instance where an agency redrew an owner's property, taking about a third of it and he couldn't even bring the case because the surveyors wouldn't touch the job. The power the Open Space District wields is too great. That was in the SF Bay Area so you know how much money was involved.
Nope, from what I know of this the Eliasons should swing, not that I want to see more condos on Big Bear Lake either.