Squaw Valley Development Company Squaw Valley Ski Corporation Squaw Valley Preserve v. Martin Goldberg Harold Singer

Squaw Valley Development Company, Squaw Valley Ski Corporation and Squaw Valley Preserve (collectively, “Squaw Valley”) filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , alleging that two employees of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Lahontan Region (the “Lahontan Board”) subjected them to selective and over-zealous regulatory oversight in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection and substantive due process. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the employees, Harold Singer and Martin Goldberg, on the ground that they are entitled to qualified immunity because there is no triable issue of material fact that a constitutional violation had been committed. Because Squaw Valley presented evidence that Singer may have been motivated by personal animus, we reverse the grant of summary judgment as to Squaw Valley’s “class of one” equal protection claim against Singer, but affirm on the remaining claims.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background

Squaw Valley owns and operates a ski resort on approximately 4,200 acres in Placer County, California. The resort is naturally traversed by the South Fork of Squaw Creek (the…