The games people play

I wrote this very quickly in order to get it faxed to both newspapers as soon as possible. It's probably pretty choppy, but I just didn't want this whole thing to be swept under the carpet so Doug looks like some kind of hero for "dropping" a suit that he apparently never intended to actually file.

October 27, 2008

To the Editor:

I just returned from the Morten & Barlow v. Gump courtroom and I am disgusted but knowing Doug Morten and Phil Barlow, not surprised.

The councilors didn’t file their cases or serve their summons on Sally properly, so the case has been held over until next Monday or Tuesday when Judge Steven Reed requested that Attorney Huffman file amendments to the suits that he claims to have intended to file all along.

It became apparent during the half an hour or so spent in court, that this has been a three-month game, intended to deter Sally Gump and the people of St. Helens. From the start, Huffman has “inadvertently” filed faulty forms, partial forms or forms with errors, knowing that he had 90 days from date of filing (August 1 for Barlow, August 2 for Morten) to make amendments.

In the interim, Sally’s time and money have been wasted responding to allegations that she acted with malice to defame the councilors and take over the city. She and the good people of St. Helens have been duped. It looks to me and to many others in court today, as if the intent of the suits was to frighten Sally into dropping her recall efforts and deter citizens from signing recall petitions by the implied threat that they could and would be sued as well. (Councilor Morten actually told a city employee some months ago that he intended to become rich off this suit, supposedly by winning and claiming $10,000 for each signature on the recall petitions.)

Sally Gump filed in good faith for the right to pass petitions calling for the recall of Douglas Morten and Phillip Barlow from the City Council of St. Helens. Can the two of them say the same thing about their SLAPP suit against her? (And, by the way, where were they today? Not in court to face her.)

I will be genuinely surprised if either of their suits is filed properly within the time set. I think this entire lawsuit smacks of game-playing. Talk about a waste of court time and tax payer money! They forced Sally to hire an attorney and incur time and costs so that they could frighten her and others from exercising their first amendment rights.

Is this who you want running your city??