Lawyer files $1M claim over 'commando-style' raid on his home to seize case files
A lawyer charged last week in an alleged fraudulent adverse-possession scheme has filed a $1 million claim against the state of California over a raid on his home.
Sheldon Feigel says armed officers entered his home at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 15, the Fresno Bee reports. He alleges that he was held all day and denied the right to speak to a lawyer.
Feigel’s lawyer, Mark Coleman, said the raid—which the Fresno Bee dubbed “commando-style”—was conducted when Feigel’s three teenage children were at home and violated his client’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
“There was no reason for officers, dressed in full tactical combat gear, carrying loaded weapons, to force entry into the home of a family of five, who had never before been accused of committing a crime,” Coleman said. The claim also seeks damages for assault and emotional distress inflicted on Feigel’s children.
The claim must be reviewed before a lawsuit can be filed.
Feigel is one of two lawyers facing charges of subornation of perjury, filing false court records and preparing false evidence in an alleged scheme to obtain title to abandoned homes through adverse possession.
Coleman says Feigel did nothing wrong, and he had no reason to believe his client’s documents were false when he filed them.
