Buckley man claimed excessive force. Here’s ‘extremely rare’ reason his suit was tossed
A Buckley man’s excessive-force lawsuit against Pierce County sheriff’s deputies has been thrown out after his attorney lost contact with him, federal court records show.
Randall Stevens, 58, had sued the county, three deputies and others over his August 2020 arrest, in which he claimed that at least a dozen law enforcement officers, including from nearby agencies, beat him over the course of seven minutes.
Following the altercation, Stevens pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, reckless driving, obstructing an officer and hit-and-run. He was sentenced to less than a year in jail, with credit for time served. His arrest stemmed from a pursuit that reached speeds over 100 mph after he refused to pull over upon being spotted excessively speeding in west Buckley, charging papers said.
Jackson Millikan, Stevens’ attorney in the federal suit filed in November 2022, revealed in a court document in November that he couldn’t get a hold of his client, who’d been unresponsive to emails, text messages and phone calls. Millikan wrote that he believed Stevens had moved to be with his father in Oregon.
Millikan withdrew as Stevens’ counsel, citing legal precedent to do so in instances when a client is unreachable. On Feb. 9, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle ordered Stevens to show cause why the lawsuit shouldn’t be dismissed for failure to prosecute, noting that Stevens was obligated to keep the court apprised of his address.
The case was dismissed on Feb. 29 after Stevens did not respond to the order within the necessary 14-day window, court records show. It’s unusual for litigation to be thrown out because a plaintiff no-showed, according to Millikan.
“As far as I know, it is extremely rare,” he said in an email to The News Tribune on Feb. 28.
“The court has done an admirable job trying to reach him,” Millikan added. “I have tried ad nauseam.”
In a twist, Millikan disclosed to The News Tribune the next day that he finally had reached Stevens, who responded to an email from Millikan but provided “no useful information,” the attorney said. Millikan informally notified the court of the contact but was told that the case had already been approved to be dismissed, he said.
Because the case was tossed without prejudice, it’s technically possible that Stevens could file the lawsuit again, according to Millikan, who guessed that his former client would be required to provide some form of evidence to explain what had prevented his participation.
Adam Faber, a spokesperson for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which defended the county and deputies in the case, said he didn’t have much to add.
“The statute of limitations has now run and the matter is concluded,” Faber said in an email Monday.
Prior to the case’s dismissal, the county and three deputies were the lone remaining defendants after claims made by Stevens against others, including jail and medical staff, were earlier thrown out, according to court records.
Stevens had alleged that he was stunned with a Taser, pepper sprayed, punched and kicked by deputies involved in his arrest, leaving him with intense nerve pain and psychological issues. Attorneys representing the county and deputies denied in court all allegations of wrongdoing.
Stevens, who rammed a patrol vehicle at least twice and fought with authorities attempting to arrest him, according to charging papers, acknowledged in a court statement prior to his sentencing that he “put (his) fear and health concerns first, intentionally causing delay to officers making (his) arrest.”
