A District Court judge on Monday dismissed all lawsuit claims Sheriff Rocky Watson had filed against Kootenai County and county officials last year, concerning $12,000-plus fees accrued when the county stalled the sheriff's transport of his home by barge.

The sheriff's attorney and brother Roland Watson said the fight isn't over.

"We're taking another route," Roland said after the decision, with the promise that another tort claim would be filed soon.

Rocky, however, said further litigation would only address issues with the county's response to records requests.

The conflicts over his house, Rocky said, end with Monday's judgment.

"I have full confidence in our Kootenai County courts," said Rocky, sheriff for over a decade. "I think (the judge) made the best decision with the information available before him."

Rocky and his wife, Mary, sued the county, as well as former Commissioner Rick Currie and Community Development Director Scott Clark last November.

The couple claimed the county had wrongfully issued a stop work order when the couple moved their home by barge in 2009, which resulted in $12,200 in barge fees and $300 in setup fees.

The Watsons asserted that county officials had done so out of personal animosity against the sheriff, due to his concerns of misconduct by the county government.

Whether that was so or not, Judge Fred Gibler deemed that the claims filed two years after the stop work orders were issued exceeded the statute of limitations to file such claims.

The plaintiffs had known enough about the situation three years ago to file claims then, Gibler deemed in a summary judgment.

"The undisputed facts here show plaintiffs knew about the stop work orders and damages incurred for the stop work orders," Gibler said.

The plaintiffs' claims included that the county intentionally caused emotional distress, that it violated the state constitution and the Civil Rights Act.

Gibler said a claim of breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing necessitates a contractual relationship between the parties, of which there is no evidence.

The judge also dismissed an amended claim alleging that the county violated the Public Records Act by overcharging the Watsons for processing a request.

That incident had already been addressed, Gibler said, by another lawsuit Rocky and Roland Watson won against the county last year in District Court.

Roland said during the court hearing that there hadn't been enough evidence available earlier to back up a tort claim.

But attorney Bentley Stromberg, representing the county, retaliated that all details don't need to be known to file a tort claim.

"In 2009, we had suspicions that something was amiss," would have been enough, Stromberg said.

The plaintiffs' evidence of wrongdoing, Rocky said after the hearing, includes a disparity between the county's definition of the beginning of construction, and what had been stated when his house was red tagged.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said on behalf of the county that he's glad the suit is over.

Currie, now administrative director at the Lake City Center, said it was "great news" that the claims were dismissed.

"We had done nothing wrong," Currie said of his actions and the county's. "It was a lawsuit that should not have wasted taxpayer dollars."