Weast

MEMORANDUM *

Plaintiff-Appellee Rod C. Weast, a sergeant with the Pierce County Sheriffs Department, filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, alleging that he was removed from his position as supervisor of the Hazardous Devices Squad (“HDS”) in retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment, namely a letter and whistleblower complaint protesting the management of HDS. In a prior ruling, we affirmed the district court’s partial denial of summary judgment. Specifically, we held that Weast’s speech — the letter and the whistleblower complaint — “involved a matter of public concern” and that the speech was protected because Weast’s interest in commenting on such matters outweighed the county’s interest “in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees.” Weast v. Pierce County, 34 Fed.Appx. 587, 588 (9th Cir.2002) (Weast I). Furthermore, we affirmed that the individual defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity. Id. at 589 .

At trial, the jury found that Weast’s letter and whistleblower complaint were substantial or motivating factors in Weast’s removal as supervisor of HDS and that he would not have been removed as supervisor in the…