Julie M. Anderson Holburn – Journalist
7th November 2025
A newly filed federal civil-rights lawsuit seeks $3 million in damages from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) and several of its top officials, alleging they conspired to retaliate against a protective mother through false criminal charges and abuse of authority.
The plaintiff, Karen Bendana, a Huntington Beach mother, accuses Deputy District Attorney Tammy Jacobs, OCDA Investigator Nathan Ridlon and Judge Eileen Solis of malicious prosecution, intimidation, and systemic rights violations. Her case—Bendana v. Orange County District Attorney’s Office et al. (Case No. 8:25-cv-01310-SSS-AJR)—was transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on June 26, 2025 and is now before Magistrate Judge A. Joel Richlin at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles.
The case was originally filed in Orange County Superior Court on May 14, 2025, and assigned to Judge Craig Griffin, who was recused on June 13, 2025. The matter was reassigned to the San Diego Superior Court on June 16, 2025.
According to a Sept. 5, 2025, minute order issued by Judge Katherine A. Bacal of the San Diego Superior Court, Department SD-63, the case was removed from Orange County Superior Court (OCSC) to federal jurisdiction and taken off the OCSC calendar—a procedural milestone that effectively places the matter under federal oversight.
The transition from county to federal jurisdiction is legally and procedurally significant. It suggests that the case involves federal questions or constitutional claims—such as alleged civil rights violations, due process issues, or misconduct by state or county officials—that extend beyond the authority of state courts. Once under federal jurisdiction, the matter becomes subject to federal procedural standards and constitutional protections, limiting local judicial influence and increasing transparency through federal oversight. The transfer was confirmed by the Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles, marking an escalation that underscores the case’s broader legal and public-interest implications.
Complaint Alleges Malicious Prosecution and Civil-Rights Violations
In Bendana’s complaint filed May 14, 2025, Bendana accuses Jacobs, Ridlon, the OCDA and Judge Solis of retaliating against her for protected speech, fabricating criminal allegations, and misusing prosecutorial power in the context of her family-court proceedings.
She claims the defendants worked in concert with the Huntington Beach Police Department to orchestrate false charges and defame her as a parent, mirroring a broader pattern of misconduct long reported within the OCDA’s Family-Court-linked prosecutions.
Named Defendants
The Bendana’s complaint names the following defendants:
- County of Orange – Governmental entity overseeing the OCDA’s operations
- Deputy District Attorney Tamara (Tammy) Jacobs – Lead prosecutor accused of retaliation and abuse of authority
- District Attorney Investigator Nathan Ridlon – Alleged co-conspirator and enforcement agent
- Senior Deputy District Attorney Deanna Hartman – Supervisory DA alleged to have participated in policy-level misconduct
- The Honorable Eileen Solis – Named for judicial involvement in the events giving rise to the claim
Five Causes of Action
Bendana’s lawsuit asserts five legal claims:
- Violation of Civil Rights (42 U.S.C. § 1983 – Retaliation under the First and Fourteenth Amendments) – alleging punishment for her protected speech and whistleblowing regarding corruption and gender bias .
- Malicious Prosecution (42 U.S.C. § 1983) – charging that the OCDA pursued knowingly baseless criminal proceedings to influence custody outcomes.
- Abuse of Process – accusing officials of weaponizing criminal procedure to enforce family-court orders.
- Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress – for humiliation, intimidation, and reputational harm.
- Monell Liability Against the OCDA and County of Orange – for policies and customs that permit systemic violations of domestic-violence survivors’ rights .
Demand for Relief
Bendana seeks:
- $3 million in general and special damages for emotional distress, reputational harm, and loss of income;
- Punitive damages against Jacobs, Ridlon, and Hartman;
- Declaratory judgment establishing constitutional violations;
- Injunctive relief to halt discriminatory OCDA policies and practices;
- Attorney’s fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 1988; and
- Any additional equitable relief deemed just and proper
A Pattern of Criminalizing Mothers: Five Interconnected Cases
- Karen Bendana (Huntington Beach, 2025 – Federal Court) – Alleges malicious prosecution and constitutional violations by Jacobs, Hartman, and Ridlon and OC Superior Court Judge Solis after reporting domestic abuse.
- Tawny Minna Grossman (Orange County, 2023–Present) – Charged under Penal Code § 278.5 for child abduction despite documentation of abuse and CPS reports; case led by Jacobs.
- Joy Houghton Hague Case (Costa Mesa, 2024) – Subjected to a multi-agency armed raid ordered by Jacobs at the request of a convicted abuser. Photos show OCDA Investigator Joe Faria and NBPD Detective Mike Fletcher on site—evidence now central to calls for oversight.
- Taran (“Tar”) Nolan v. James Nolan (OC Superior Court, 2023–Present) – OCDA personnel— allegedly became entangled in a custody dispute involving a quadriplegic mother. Witnesses report that Jacobs and the OCDA’s office intervened behind the scenes to suppress abuse evidence and influence judicial outcomes favorable to the father. Nolan’s case drew national attention for violations of ADA rights, court retaliation against media coverage, and judicial misconduct by Judge Kimberly Carasso.
- Julie Anderson-Holburn (Reporter / Protective Parent, 2020–Present) – Deputy District Attorney Tammy Jacobs oversaw OCDA Investigator Joe Faria, who harassed and attempted to serve this reporter at her home on behalf of her abuser—pounding on doors and yelling through the patio for over two hours—despite my active enrollment in the Safe at Home Program and an existing Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO). Subsequently, Jacobs and Faria, along with Newport Beach Police Detective Mike Fletcher, filed declarations in the family-law case containing fraudulent and perjurious statements. After this reporter began publishing investigative articles, Jacobs attempted to subpoena me as a witness in the Tawny Minna Grossman criminal case, a move widely viewed as retaliatory and an effort to interfere with protected journalistic activity.
The “Three Courts, One Playbook” Model
Advocates describe a closed-loop system linking Family, Probate, Juvenile, (and Criminal Courts) —each reinforcing the other’s outcomes through selective enforcement.
Within this pipeline, protective mothers and survivors become defendants, while abusers gain credibility through DA involvement.
Jacobs and her team’s repeated crossover between divisions exemplifies this institutional playbook, undermining both due process and child-safety statutes.
Systemic and Federal Implications
Bendana’s Monell claim expands scrutiny beyond individual misconduct to challenge the OCDA’s institutional culture and policy failures.
If the federal court sustains her allegations, it could pave the way for U.S. Department of Justice intervention, similar to oversight actions imposed on other California agencies found in violation of constitutional norms.
From Huntington Beach to Costa Mesa, from Taran Nolan’s wheelchair to Joy Houghton’s toddler seizure, the same officials appear again and again.
Protective mothers speak out — and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes, intimidates, or silences them.
With Bendana v. OCDA now under federal jurisdiction, these interconnected cases form a mosaic of alleged retaliation that may finally face constitutional review.
The question now before the U.S. District Court is not just what happened to one mother—but whether an entire prosecutorial system has institutionalized abuse of power under the color of law.
