Tangled up in Bluth: Chuck Bluth sues 3 TRPA staff members, stalling settlement

Cal-Neva Lodge owner Chuck Bluth is back in the ring with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, throwing a punch which has brought his legal negotiations with the agency to a halt.

The two parties have locked horns for more than a year regarding Bluth's lakefront property and home at the former Logan Shoals Marina. Bluth is a defendant in a lawsuit brought by TRPA alleging he performed unpermitted construction.

Now Bluth has filed a counterclaim alleging three TRPA employees trespassed on his property near Cave Rock.

The TRPA denies all allegations.

The move throws a wrench into negotiations to settle what fines and measures Bluth will make for allegedly performing unpermitted work. The agency has suspended settlement talks until the countersuit is resolved.

"We don't think the timing is right for a settlement proposal," said John Marshall, lead attorney for the agency. "We're offended by it, going after these individuals. We think we need to resolve that first before we move ahead."

The countersuit, filed in April, was intended to improve his position and the timing of the settlement, Bluth said. If the TRPA offers a settlement agreement to Bluth's liking, he will drop the countersuit.

The claim accuses TRPA employees and the agency of trespassing, negligence, negligent hiring, illegal search and seizure, denial of due process and conspiracy. Bluth is asking for damages and compensation of attorney fees.

The suit says employees were "prone to intimidate, harass, trespass onto private property and consistently violate constitutional rights ... and they were prone to conspire among themselves to obfuscate official investigatory activities and prone to falsify, distort and/or cover up circumstances of their misconduct."

By signing a permit application, a property owner gives permission to the TRPA to perform follow up inspections, Marshall said. The application states before the signature: "I hereby authorize the TRPA to access the property for the purpose of site visits."

In October, TRPA inspectors were denied access to the property and obtained a search warrant from U.S. District Court in Reno to complete the inspection.

Bluth acknowledges that his landscaping, which included a waterfall and floating tea house, were not included in his permits. He denies present allegations that he altered the backshore area - the part of the property that abuts the lake - and said the claim can't be proven.

Staff at the agency have said they spotted the changes to the backshore in a photo published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Marshall claimed the countersuit is just intimidation.

"For John Marshall to talk about intimidation - that's just a joke. They've had a gun to my head from day one," Bluth said in response.

Bluth claims property owners and businesses have no rights under the TRPA and have no recourse if they feel wronged.

"Where does the property owner go to be heard?" he said.

Bluth said he spent $200,000 on improvements and cleanup to the property.

Marshall said the dispute sends a message that just because you can afford to improve a property, doesn't mean you have the right to make violations.

It doesn't matter how beautiful you make it look, "if you don't have the permit to do it, it's ugly in its impact" on Lake Tahoe, he said.