BERLIN -- The unsuccessful plaintiffs in a civil suit against a Berlin farm family and Perdue this week filed a motion asking the court not to award the defendants a combined $3 million being sought in legal fees and other costs associated with litigating the case.
In March 2010, the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, along with the Assateague Coastal Trust and the Assateague Coastkeeper, filed suit in U.S. District Court against Perdue and Berlin’s Hudson Farm after sampling in ditches adjacent to the property revealed high levels of harmful fecal coliform and E. coli in concentrations that violated the Clean Water Act.
After a 10-day trial in October, U.S. District Court Judge William Nickerson ruled in favor of the defendants Perdue and Alan Hudson, opining the Waterkeeper Alliance was not successful in proving a Clean Water Act violation. Buoyed by their victory in October, Perdue and the Hudsons in January filed a motion to recover a combined $3 million in legal fees and other costs associated with successfully defending the landmark case, asserting the plaintiffs continued to push forward with the litigation even after it appeared its position was untenable.
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they must pay. this will help prevent them from going after people in the future with weak cases.
ReplyDeleteIt should be 10 million. I will never suport any of these fake groups.
ReplyDeleteThose idiots - they brought the frivolous lawsuit and did it with full intention of getting into deep pockets. I say they should pay twice as much.
ReplyDeleteWaterkeepers to counsel, "$1m to the judge, $1m to the opposing lawyer, and the Hudsons get nothing, okay?"
ReplyDeleteBet Me.
I beleive they were warned by two judges not to continue the case prior to the last one. They should pay, and pay heavily!
ReplyDeleteI heard they recently began/are gearing up for a new case against another farm family on the shore. Any details on that? Seems like they have unlimited resources with the university of Maryland doing their legal work for them for free. Thank god there are these do gooders out there prosecuting hard working farmers for the greater good of people who don't own land. RIGHT??????? If its so important to tell farmers what they can and can't do just come buy my farm from me. Everything's for sale for the right price. Dig into your deep government pockets and you can do any non profitable thing you want on my farm ;)
ReplyDelete6:35, the unlimited resources from the Univ. of Md. = my tax dollars. this is my damn money and anyone else who pays taxes. money doesn't grow on trees; it comes from us. always has and always will.
ReplyDeleteenough of this crap from these tree huggers. go away and leave us alone. we'll take care of ourselves thank you. ENOUGH !!!