Ernest S. Little v. City of Seattle John Doe Jane Doe, and David Paul

Ernest S. Little appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing his federal civil rights, Bivens, and state law claims against the individual defendant, David Paul. The district court found that Paul was entitled to absolute immunity for any state-law torts and for his testimony before the grand jury, and to qualified immunity for any constitutional violations. We affirm.

FACTS

David Paul is the Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office — Investigations of the Office of the Inspector General, United States Department of Labor. He is responsible for all investigations conducted by personnel in the Seattle field office. The field office investigates complaints and reports of possible fraud, waste, and abuse in programs funded or administered by the Department of Labor. Paul reports the results of these investigations to civil and criminal authorities.

In this role, Paul investigated an alleged misappropriation of funds from Lisamber Youth Unlimited, a program funded under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). As a result of the investigation, Little, the volunteer supervisor of Lisamber’s Rent-A-Kid program, was indicted. The alleged…