ATTENTION ATTENTION: FEINBERG FILES TX SUPREME COURT APPEAL IN JOHNSON DEVELOPMENT SLAPP SUIT AGAINST HOMEOWNERS IN SIENNA PLANTATION!

ATTENTION ATTENTION: FEINBERG FILES TX SUPREME COURT APPEAL IN JOHNSON DEVELOPMENT SLAPP SUIT AGAINST HOMEOWNERS IN SIENNA PLANTATION!


This just in to MissouriCityChatter.com, an exclusive.

Matthew Feinberg, his attorney Laura Hermer of the UH law school and the ACLU Foundation of Texas have filed an appeal with the Texas Supreme Court in its attempt to protect Sienna residents who participated in online discussions on the now defunct websites SiennaTalk.com, MissouriCityTalk.com. The order attempts to reverse lower court protections that seem inadequate when information from these sites have been released to the media through the Johnson Development attorneys.

This strike case (SLAPP) was initially filed on August 3rd by Johnson Development of Houston, developers of Sienna Plantation, Riverstone and many other mixed use developments in an attempt to silence homeowner criticisms and petitioning efforts to stop an additional set of 1800 apartment units coming to this quiet single family neighborhood in Missouri City, TX above an already approved 900 for this immediate area.

"It seems obvious now that this case has always been about trying to injunct/silence us which is the standard in SLAPP cases (see Pring & Canen, 1996)", Dr. Calvin, a co-chair and volunteer for this group, says. "When they filed the 12/13/05 law suit they expanded the scope of the case to include scores of homeowners who volunteered on this committee over the months in a request for a permanent injunction and the maximum legal damages allowable by law."

Strategic Law Suits Against Public Participation were first studied by Professor Rock Pring of the University of Denver Law Center in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. Of the nearly 300 cases studied he found most were filed by land developers against individuals or groups involved in protected petitioning activity (this falls under first amendment protections). He further found that of the developer cases most utlized what Pring calls a "camouflage case" such as defamation, libel, slander, business disparagement approach.


"Short of a gun to the head, a greater threat to First Amendment expression can scarcely be imagined." — Judge J. Nicholas Colabella (1992) see http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/petition/topic.aspx?topic=slapp for more on this literature.


When Dr. Calvin was asked why he decided not to agree to a voluntary injunction with the threat of such heavy legal damages he responded "I have no desire to become their neighborhood scapegoat". He further elaborated that they basically dictated the settlement offer and did not negotiate in good faith and he feels he can get a fairer hearing in front of a jury.

In pretrial this case has already cost the target/defendent approximately $20,000 with much more to come. According to the experts, these cases, when not settled early, can last anywhere from 3 to 13 years. 12 states currently have anti-SLAPP laws protecting against these types of actions, however Texas does not and attempts at this type of tort reform have been repeatedly defeated in Austin with the support of developer PACs.

Calvin further stated, "that without these petitioning protections we couldn't even speak out as we are currently against a local airport expansion project which will have a detrimental impact on our homes and property values here in Sienna Plantation and surrounding areas. I want to thank Tom Hilton for leading this charge and trying to stop the jets here locally. He deserves our gratitude.

For more background on this SLAPP case and the previous appeals please see:

http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/317/fight-over-apartments-could-restrict-free-speech-on-the-web

http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/487/sienna-plantation-developers-sue-community-activist-for-defamation

http://www.fortbendstar.com/122105/n_Sienna%20files%20suit%20against%20blogger.htm


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