Kearney

Joan Kearney (“Kearney”) appeals the district court’s dismissal of the federal and state law claims she filed against a representative of the Ramona Unified School District (“RUSD”) and the law firm that represented RUSD (collectively “Defendants”) in an earlier eminent domain proceeding regarding her property. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . As to Kearney’s federal law claims, we vacate the district court’s judgment and remand so that those claims may be heard. As to Kearney’s state law claims, we affirm the district court on all but the spoliation of evidence claim, which we instead remand.

I. Background

A. Events Leading Up to the State Valuation Trial

We must begin, not with the case at hand, but with the earlier eminent domain proceedings from which Kearney’s current claims arose.

Kearney is the former owner of a 52.06-acre parcel of property in Ramona, California. In June of 2000, RUSD initiated the condemnation process for that property. Pursuant to that, it hired Construction Testing & Engineering, Inc. (“CTE”) to conduct a septic system assessment, including percolation testing, of Kearney’s land and then issue a report with the results. Those…