MALIBU : Man Settles Suit Over Drug Raid for $650,000

A Malibu man whose civil rights were violated when he was arrested by sheriff’s deputies during a 1991 drug raid at his home has settled his federal lawsuit for $650,000, one of his attorneys said Wednesday.

Gene Craig Wall, who owned a wallpaper-hanging business, won the civil rights judgment against the Sheriff’s Department and seven deputies at a trial earlier this month. The same jury awarded him $215,752 in damages.

Monday’s agreement replaces the verdicts and damages levied against the deputies, said civil rights attorney Howard Price. The county will pay the award, which includes attorney’s fees and court costs, he said.

As part of the settlement, Wall dropped a claim against the county and Sheriff Sherman Block.

The July 30, 1991, drug raid at the $1.3-million home targeted Wall’s son, who later pleaded guilty to possession charges, with intent to sell. Bill Wall then helped clear his father of the same charges.

Wall, 57, claimed the deputies provided false information to a judge to get a search warrant, stole $5,000 in cash during the search and “maliciously” killed his dog, said co-counsel Stephen Yagman. The government also tried to seize the house as a result of the bust, but a separate hearing on that issue scheduled Friday was headed off by the settlement.