Legal News

Canyon Lake says no SLAPP-happy Sky Blue shining on them

By Richard Binder

A battle has been raging for months in Canyon Lake over whether or not the three-man investment group known as Sky Blue can push forward with excavating and terracing the area known locally as "Goat Hill" to build a shopping mall and up to 16 new homes.  After a move for a hillside protection ordinance resulted in a deadlocked vote, a news release from Concerned Citizens of Canyon Lake successfully prompted the Owners Association's board of directors to deny the development request on the basis of mineral rights ownership. Sky Blue then slapped two members of the Concerned Citizens group with a lawsuit, saying the newsletter's mineral rights claims were false and resulted in the disruption of the project.  Barry Talbot and Nancy Horton, who were running for City Council and served minutes before a candidates' forum, claimed intimidation.  Indeed, experts soon weighed in and labeled the case a perfect example of a SLAPP suit. The recent election results suggest a pushback against such alleged tactics. 

The first case management conference isn't until April and a countersuit is on the table. 

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on November 10, 2008 (boomark / email).