COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson has filed a lawsuit against the county and current and past officials, with accusations of misconduct and officials acting on personal vendettas.

The suit, filed Nov. 7 in District Court, is directed at the county, past Commissioner Rick Currie and Community Development Director Scott Clark.

Both Rocky and his wife, Mary, are listed as the plaintiffs.

Requesting damages of more than $10,000, the lawsuit states the county was wrong and brought on unnecessary fees for the couple when it halted the relocation of the Watsons' home by barge. The suit also claims the county violated the plaintiffs' rights in stopping road work they were conducting.

The document further states that Currie and Clark's conduct toward Rocky was the result of personal animosity, and retaliation for the sheriff's concerns over mismanagement of the county.

"My client expects reimbursement for his losses, and perhaps the change of treatment of people," said Rocky's legal representative and brother, Rollie Watson. "If we make them accountable every time they pull this stuff, maybe they'll learn."

The suit states that the Kootenai County Building Department was completely aware when the plaintiffs moved their home by barge across Lake Coeur d'Alene to relocate onto their Cougar Bay property.

Yet the county issued a stop work order on the project for violating building ordinance 409.

According to the suit, Currie and Clark later learned in June 2009 that the project was in compliance with county flood ordinance and "not controlled by ordinance 409."

The Watsons accumulated an extra $12,200 in barge fees, the suit reads, when the county notice prevented them from moving their residence off the lake.

The suit also accuses the defendants of violating the 14th Amendment for issuing a stop work order on road work the plaintiffs conducted near their home in 2009.

The notice brought on an additional $300 in set-up fees for the plaintiffs.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants executed policy "in retaliation and personal animosity" against Rocky.

The document refers to Currie and Clark making disparaging and false remarks against Rocky. It also accuses them of acting in retribution for the plaintiffs' concerns over the defendants' "illegal conduct," as well as the county's "wasting of public funds, mismanagement of manpower and violations of laws."

Clark and Currie's conduct wasn't in their scope of employment, the suit adds, and was done with "malice, gross negligence, recklessness, willful and wanton conduct."

The plaintiffs are asking for damages in excess of $10,000, for an award of pretrial interest, attorneys fees and cost fees of $1,500.

Currie, now manager at the Lake City Center, said he was "not going to honor that allegation with a comment" when told about the accusations of personal retaliation.

Having not read the suit on Wednesday afternoon, he couldn't comment on the other details, he said.

Clark could not be reached on Wednesday afternoon, and current Commissioner Dan Green said it wouldn't be appropriate to comment on pending litigation.

Rocky Watson also declined to comment for the same reason.

Rollie Watson said this suit follows a judgment issued on another suit Watson filed against the county, over issues with a freedom-of-information-act request for documents related to the barge move.

"He's frustrated with the government of which he's part of," Rollie said.