Lawsuit from Pacific Beach Trump march dismissed after attorney did not summon SDPD officers

A federal judge this month dismissed a lawsuit that alleged San Diego police bias against anti-Trump protesters during a 2021 event in Pacific Beach because the plaintiffs’ attorney failed to serve summonses to the individual officers named in the suit.

Attorney Brian Pease called the failure an oversight. But he emphasized the dismissal was based on that issue and not the merits of the case. He said he would challenge the dismissal, and if that fails, could re-file the case in state court.

Pease has also filed a separate lawsuit in federal court with some of the same allegations from the dismissed case, but with different plaintiffs.

The dismissed lawsuit was based on events that occurred at a pro-Trump “Patriot March” held in Pacific Beach in January 2021, just days after supporters of the former president had stormed the U.S. Capitol. In Pacific Beach, the pro-Trump group clashed with counterprotesters, prompting San Diego police to declare an unlawful assembly — a declaration that only applied to the counterdemonstrators, made up of self-described anti-fascists, Black Lives Matter activists and others.

Two of the anti-Trump protesters sued, alleging they were victims of viewpoint discrimination because the order to disperse only pertained to one group.

The original lawsuit, filed by Mandy Lien and Erin Smith, named the city, Mayor Todd Gloria and police Chief David Nisleit as defendants. When a judge dismissed the mayor and police chief from the suit, the plaintiffs filed two new complaints that added 10 named officers.

Pease never served those officers summonses, as is required to do within 90 days.

Late last year, more than 10 months after Lien and Smith named the officers in their updated complaint, attorneys for the city moved to dismiss the case because the officers had not been served the summonses.

U.S. District Judge Michael Anello agreed, dismissing the case against the officers. That left just the city as a defendant, but with no federal claims pending against the city, he dismissed the entire case.

Pease can file a new case against the city on behalf of Lien and Smith in San Diego Superior Court. He has already filed a related suit with similar claims in federal court on behalf of four different plaintiffs. It names three of the 10 officers from the other suit. Records in the new case show those officers — a captain and two lieutenants — were served their summonses last week.