OLYMPIA—A trial date has been set in the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) whistleblower lawsuit, brought by the Citizen Action Defense Fund (CADF) on behalf client Scott Smith. The trial has been scheduled for August 18, 2025, in Thurston County Superior Court. The parties are proceeding with discovery, which according to the scheduling order, will need to be completed in March of 2025.

Motion to Dismiss: CADF Win

Earlier this year, WSDOT filed a Motion to Dismiss, attempting to stop the whistleblower lawsuit from moving forward. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Egeler ruled in CADF’s favor, stating that she found legal merit to the case. CADF Executive Director Jackson Maynard argued the motion for Smith and CADF.

Background

In March 2024, CADF filed the whistleblower lawsuit on behalf of Smith, a state employee who refused to lie about cap-and-trade fuel costs. Smith was allegedly pressured by WSDOT to change the numbers in his fuel estimates and reports so that they wouldn’t indicate that the cap-and-trade scheme was significantly impacting the cost of fuel.

This pressure was applied right as Governor Jay Inslee was publicly blaming and accusing the fuel industry of lying about the cost of his program. When Smith refused to change his estimate to fit Governor Inslee’s narrative – which was dictated by simple math – he was forced out of state service.

In December of 2023, CADF filed a tort claim form and sent a demand letter formally...

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