Zoellner v. City of Arcata Documents

Below are a selection of documents related to the Zoellner v City of Arcata civil case. 

All documents below were obtained via publicly available court records. Because these documents were obtained through publicly available means, there may be redactions or other changes within the document.

Updates will be made here as the case continues.

Docket 93

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS This order granted a motion to dismiss a previous version of Zoellner's complaint (the third amended complaint). The court later allowed the complaint to be amended. 

Docket 131 

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS FIFTH AMENDED COMPLAINT 

Docket 140

TRANSCRIPT OF ZOOM WEBINAR PROCEEDINGS APPEARANCES VIA ZOOM

Docket 141

TRANSCRIPT OF ZOOM PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE HONORABLE DONNA M. RYU UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE w/DA Fleming - On page 22 line 9 DA Fleming, when asked by the court, replies that there are no plans for future grand jury proceedings against Zoellner (as of May 27 2021, the date of this proceeding), but the case is still open.

Docket 142

ORDER ON MOTION TO COMPEL This order compelled the Humboldt County District Attorney to make available to Zoellner and his counsel (with some stipulation) transcripts of the 2019 criminal grand jury proceedings on the David Josiah Lawson homicide case. 

Docket 154

DEFENDANTS’ RULE 11 MOTION FOR SANCTIONS The defense counsel filed this motion for sanctions in response to the plantiff's request to disqualify one of the defense attorneys on the basis that they allege the attorney made a threat of wrongful prosecution against Zoellner during a settlement conference (see document 171 below). Page 7 line 12 of this document also discloses that, as of August 2021, City of Arcata had incurred attorney's fees of $187,104.80 in the Lawson v. City of Arcata lawsuit and $110,583.27 in the Zoellner v City of Arcata case.

Docket 166

TRANSCRIPT OF REMOTE VIDEOCONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS APPEARANCES (Re: Defendant's motion to dismiss second amended complaint)

Docket 167

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS APPEARANCES (A vague allegation of possible witness tampering is made by the plantiff counsel on page 16 line 20)

Docket 168

TRANSCRIPT OF ZOOM VIDEO CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS APPEARANCES

Docket 171

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS BY ZOOM WEBINAR  (This is the source of the plantiff's argument for Count 9, the allegation of a threat of wrongful prosecution by the defense counsel)

Docket 175

Docket 177

Multiple documents related to PLAINTIFF KYLE ZOELLNER’S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ [PROPOSED] ORDER WAIVING CONFIDENTIALITY OF SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENTS

Docket 184

Documents regarding count 9, allegation of wrongful threat of criminal prosecution

Docket 186

PUBLIC/REDACTED VERSION ORDER RE PARTIES’ JOINT FILING RE WAIVER OF CONFIDENTIALITY

Docket 187

Documents related to subpoena of Judge Laurel Beeler This is related to count 9, the allegation of threat of wrongful prosecution

Docket 188

Plantiff letter and documents regarding protective order for deposition of Kyle Zoellner

Docket 189

(Continued) Plantiff letter and protective order documents

Docket 190

Defendant's letter regarding multiple issues

Docket 192

Docket 193

Docket 194

Docket 196

CIVIL DISCOVERY HEARING MINUTE ORDER

Docket 198

PROCEEDINGS HELD BY ZOOM WEBINAR (Summary) 

Docket 199

Docket 201

  • PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE AND TO AMEND THE FIFTH AMENDED COMPLAINT
  • DEPOSITION OF THOMAS CHAPMAN (Public redacted version) On deposition page 92 starting at line 24 (page 4 of this document), Chief Thomas Chapman, when asked whether any other suspects were investigated in the case, states that no other suspects were identified.
  • DEPOSITION OF TODD DOKWEILER (Public redacted version) On deposition page 188 and 189 (page 4 of this document), Det. Dockweiler denies knowing that the 2019 criminal grand jury proceedings produced any factual findings)
  • DEPOSITION OF ERIC LOSEY (Public redacted version)
  • DEPOSITION OF DEVIN NILSEN (Public redacted version)
  • Statement of probable cause for arrest of Kyle Zoellner (in April 2017)
  • Arcata PD Supplement to Charging Summary (Public redacted version) This report contains detective Losey's misrepresentation of Jason Martinez's witness statement. The remaining complaint of Zoellner's lawsuit alleges that Det. Losey's mischaracterization of Martinez's statement amounts to malicious prosecution.
  • Preliminary Hearing Transcript (Public redacted version) - This contains the testimony of Jason Martinez and Eric Losey at the preliminary hearing for criminal charges against Kyle Zoellner in May 2017. The remaining complaint of Zoellner's lawsuit alleges that Det. Losey's mischaracterization of Martinez's statement amounts to malicious prosecution. On page 846 of the transcript starting at line 23 (pg. 62 of this document) Losey admits to this error. In his testimony, Martinez states that he witnesses the fight between the two males - which Losey incorrectly described as the stabbing - in the grassy area while he is standing halfway down the driveway next to a red mustang style vehicle. No physical evidence was located in the grassy area. A pool of blood that formed the start of the blood trail to the location where Lawson was found stabbed was located on the driveway next to a red mustang and the knife that police recovered was located underneath the mustang. This is discussed by the court in document 233 below.

    • Document 220 ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION AND TO AMEND COMPLAINT (This order disposes of Docket 201 and Zoellner will not be allowed to amend the complaint)

    Docket 227 Request for Judicial Notice - The plantiff requested the court take judicial notice of a number of items incuding transcripts from the preliminary hearing for murder charges against Zoellner. Below are a selection of transcripts that were made available. This will continue to be updated. 
  • Kyle Castillo Testimony
  • Kristoff Castillo Testimony 
  • Keaundrey Clark Testimony
  • Paris Wright Testimony

    • Document 233 ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (This order granted summary judgement for most defendants. The one original claim that remains at this point is the allegation of malicious prosecution by Detective Eric Losey. This is scheduled to go to trial in July 2022. Count 9, the allegation of threat of malicious prosecution by the defense counsel, will be heard separately after the malicious prosecution case is heard.)

    Document 237 Letters Regarding Previously Withheld Documents This contains a letter from Zoellner's counsel discussing documents that they allege were withheld improperly by the defense counsel. This is discussed in greater detail in the April 2022 update article. This also contains the defense counsel's response to the plantiff's letter 

    Document 238 Order Denying Motion to Compel This is an order denying the request in document 237


    - Document 343 - This is a letter by the counsel for DA Maggie Fleming from 9/30/2022 in which she objects to giving testimony at the Zoellner v. City of Arcata trial. 

    - Document 345 - This is Zoellner's response to a request by DA Fleming to limit and seal her testimony. This response is very strongly worded by Zoellner's attorney. The following is a quote:

    This is yet another attempt to cover up their incompetence and how they actually damaged my client’s reputation in such a way that he was not able to go out and do anything because everybody called him a “killer”, a “murder” all premised on false reports. This Court should not protect, this kind of activity from public eye. It should not protect Ms.Fleming, Detective Losey and Dokweiler from any potential investigations by other agencies into their improper conduct. And sealing records would do just that.

    - Document 347 - This is the Court's order denying DA Fleming's request. The Court says the following:

    "Non-party Maggie Fleming’s objections to giving testimony at trial are OVERRULED. (Dkt. No. 343.) Ms. Fleming is an experienced lawyer and the elected District Attorney of Humboldt County. She was represented by counsel at her August 2022 deposition, and did not make any of the privilege objections she now raises. Her brief does not address the issue that her deposition testimony waived any privileges that may have applied. Nor does she make a particularized showing that testimony about her charging decision in April 2017 will negatively impact the ongoing investigation more than five years later.

    - DA Fleming's April 2019 letter to then California Attorney General Xavier Becerra requesting his office take over prosecution of the Lawson homicide case

    It seems like this document will be central to DA Fleming's testimony. The following quote from this article is a likely reference to the charging document prepared by former APD Detective Eric Losey who is the defendant in this trial. Zoellner alleges that Losey's misrepresentation of this eyewitnesses statement on this charging document was critical to the DA's decision to charge him with the murder of Josiah Lawson in 2017 and that this amounts to malicious prosecution by Detective Losey. Zoellner seems to suggest that the following quote by DA Fleming in this letter supports this. You can read more about this under Detective Eric Losey and witness Jason Martinez's testimony at the 2017 preliminary hearing in the murder case here. 

     "Initially, the Arcata Police Department (APD) arrested a suspect at the scene and then submitted to this Office, within a few days of the arrest, reports that indicated an eyewitness could identify the suspect. We filed charges based on that information but at the preliminary hearing that witness could not in fact identify anyone. Extensive testimony at the preliminary hearing, by people in the vicinity at the time of the incident, yielded no witnesses to the actual stabbing."

    - Document 349 - This is the form the jury will use to determine the verdict and the compensatory and punitive damages if they rule in Zoellner's favor.


    Trial and Post-trial

    - Verdict Form with the Jury's Decision

    - Punitive Damages 

    - Jury's Request for a Public Apology

    - Trial Log

    - Defense Motion

    - PLAINTIFF’S MEMORANDUM RE PROBABLE CAUSE & REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE

    - DEFENDANT ERIC LOSEY’S MEMORANDUM RE PROBABLE CAUSE

    - ORDER RE: LACK OF PROBABLE CAUSE ELEMENT

    - PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION UNDER RULE 37 AND 11 FOR ISSUE & MONETARY SANCTIONS

    - Exhibits from Zoellner v. Losey (Formerly City of Arcata)

    - Notice of Appeal Document