[AT] Quick question
ATIS
yostsw at atis.net
Thu Nov 12 19:06:06 PST 2015
Just a quick question: I have a completely legal farm: Properly zoned, above the minimum size, and part of an agricultural district. I am constantly getting sued by the mac-mansion neighbors around me. They always lose and in fact the last time the judge dismissed "with prejudice". I assumed that would keep anyone from suing but it doesn't. It just means I win but I still have to spend money to defend it. In fact, I was served yet again with a lawsuit early this week.
In short: There does not seem to be a disincentive built into the system to prevent suits - even if I keep winning. My legal team - who keeps winning so I am biased towards listening - says filing a suit against the neighbors for frivolous lawsuits would probably fail. They say the court requires "malice and callous disregard for the merits" for that to stick and it's a high bar to prove. The fact they won't take that on contingency sort of proves to me they believe what they say. A second opinion I sought supported their position.
Anyone else who is farming on this list that is running up against this? Just curious. The legal bills are becoming onerous and everyone I talk to locally has not seen this.
Spencer Yost
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