Hall

Pursuant to title 42 United States Code section 1983 , plaintiffs Urrea C. Jones, Jr., Stephen K. Matson and their law firm, Jones & Matson, sued their former client, the Compton Unified School District (District), the former and current members of its board of trustees, its superintendent and its former associate superintendent for violation of plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights under color of state law and for conspiracy to violate plaintiffs’ rights. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants first reduced the use of plaintiffs’ legal services, and then withdrew the District’s cases after plaintiffs filed a government claim for damages, in retaliation for plaintiffs’ refusal to support the political campaigns of defendants Hall and Calhoun.

The trial court dismissed the District after sustaining its demurrer and granted a nonsuit to defendants Quijada-Barrera, Shipp, Sharif and Patillo. At the conclusion of trial, a jury returned a special verdict for defendants Hall, Calhoun, Beeman and Gonzales, finding those defendants had not intentionally sought to deprive plaintiffs of their constitutional rights. The court subsequently denied plaintiffs’ motions for new trial and for…