Pelletier

This case is before us for a third time on an interlocutory basis in order to test the immunity of the defendant, John W. Beh-rens. The appeals have arisen out of plaintiff Robert J. Pelletier’s claims that a letter Behrens wrote to Pelletier’s employer in 1985 on behalf of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB), which allegedly resulted in Pelletier’s termination, violated Pel-letier’s clearly established federal rights. Pelletier at the time was serving as president of Pioneer Bank. Pelletier had a contract with the bank providing that he could be dismissed only for cause, but the contract itself was subject to approval by FHLBB.

The factual background is fully set out in our first opinion, Pelletier v. Federal Home Loan Bank, 968 F.2d 865 (9th Cir.1992)(Pei- letier I), and the Supreme Court’s opinion remanding the second interlocutory appeal to us for determination, Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299 , 116 S.Ct. 834 , 133 L.Ed.2d 773 (1996) (Pelletier II). The first appeal was from a partial denial of Behrens’s motion to dismiss on immunity grounds. We held that the allegations of continuing efforts to interfere with Pelletier’s employment prospects in the banking industry…