Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Letter from the past #2


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I read this threatening and intimidating letter from the Wood Farm, a little vomit entered the back of my throat.

Anonymous said...

It is my understanding that several of these types of letters were sent to CV citizens right after the SLAPP was filed against many opposing voices in the New York State Supreme Court.
I notice that one of the names endorsing the Wood Farm threat is a person who has said he will challenge Mr. Hirschey this fall. Another member of the family has already passed his petition for candidacy as a town council.
Another candidate is a pro wind, Bp supporter and former Judge who ran with all Bp leaseholders in 2011.
Think twice about the community splitting turmoil that will occur if the CFG and the Cape Dem leadership take back the Cape and deliver it to Bp.

Anonymous said...

Was this the same law firm that filled in for Vorys at Judge McClusky's hearing in NY Supreme Court?

ConcernedCitizen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Dear Hludzenski?

What the hell kind of a greeting is that?

ConcernedCitizen said...

Neither Vorys nor any of the plaintiffs in the SLAPP action physically appeared in the Watertown Supreme Court House when Judge McClusky heard the motion to dismiss. McClusky used the word SLAPP when addressing the plaintiffs' Attorney, David B. Geurtsen from the firm that sent letters out to community members on behalf of the Wood Farms, LLC.
Both Cape Vincent bloggers and a contingent of supporters attended the hearing.
It appears that Wood Farm was advised of details of the SLAPP action and followed up with letters like the above that would possibly scare members of the community out of expressing their opinions on a contentious public matter.
Naming ten John Does gets the attention and might possibly scare and quiet thousands of Pandora and JLL readers. If yours was one of the nearly forty thousand comments made to JLL or one of the thousands of post contributors, they would hope you might think twice before taking a public anti wind position ever again.
But, your right to express your opinion is safe in the US courts who support your right and frown upon strategically placed legal actions which seem to have the intent of scaring and intimidate and force one into financial and emotional ruin.

A well placed SLAPP might sway public opinion and gives the plaintiffs' supporters good reason to sit around, guzzle beers, slap backs and pretend they are going to shut a lot of people up. SLAPP also emboldens certain citizens with a feeling that they have a right to publicly intimidate the victim of the SLAPP on behalf of their cause.

Legal minds have written that SLAPP actions are hardly ever won by plaintiffs when the claims are made of libel, loss of business or pain and suffering. According to legal experts who are working for Congressional action that protects citizens against SLAPP, the plaintiffs often never intend to win. It often appears that they may just want to scare the hell out of the opposition and hope the defendant will go broke, get scared to death, have an emotional melt down and suffer from financial ruin.