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The federal judge's ruling in Seattle stymied Puget Sound cannabis entrepreneur Levi Lyon's bid to recoup losses from a Thurston County property seizure tied to dismissed felony charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kate Vaughan awarded summary judgment to defendants, deeming Lyon's right to litigate forfeited when signing a retrieval accord.

According to the Thursday order, Lyon's March 2021 pact to pay $200 storage stipulated property return post his November 2019 narcotics task force arrest pertaining to three felonies dropped early 2021. By inking the deal, Lyon surrendered claims against Thurston County regarding seizure and warehousing, the judge emphasized, "including this case's causes and substance." Judge Vaughan declared the county board, sheriff and liquor control granted judgment, quelling Lyon's legal challenges.

Lyon alleged buses and company items seized by law enforcement necessitated costly repairs upon return, damaged. In a filing, he argued inability to inspect before signing barred recovery of missing records and computers key to his cannabis operations. However, Judge Vaughan ruled the forfeiture hearing where the pact transpired the appropriate venue to challenge property condition, as the agreement relinquished courtroom grievances.

Beyond the waiver, the lack of before and after photos or documentation precisely what Lyon asserted retention further weakened his case, the court noted. Neither Lyon, his lawyers nor Thurston prosecutors commented on the ruling.

Lyon retains Eric T. Krening of Osinski Law Offices. Defendants, like the Thurston County commissioners and sheriff, enlist Jon Tunheim and Scott C. Cushing of the county prosecutor's office. The case is Lyon et al. v. Thurston County et al., number 3:23-cv-05450 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Seattle.