Real Estate & Property Law

First Amendment Encumbered

By Alan Ackerman

Leaf Chronicle

The libel suit filed against members of the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition has been dismissed.

In a ruling late last week, Sumner County Judge C.L. Rogers dismissed the libel suit filed by Richard Swift, a former City Council member, and Wayne Wilkinson, a member of the Downtown District Partnership.

The two filed suit after the CPRC ran an ad in The Leaf-Chronicle on May 3.

The ad urged the public to lobby their representatives to vote against the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan, whose references to eminent domain proved controversial.

"This redevelopment plan is about private development. Our city government is controlled by developers," the ad said. "Mayor Johnny Piper, Councilman Swift and DDP member Wayne P. (Wilkinson) are all developers."

Rogers ruled that the ad was not libelous because it did not meet the standards of defamation.

"Accusing a public official or public figure of using their political influence to obtain a benefit for others or of themselves or favoring their supporters is not defamation," Rogers wrote in his ruling.

Swift and Wilkinson had sought $500,000 in damages. Under Rogers' ruling, the two will be assessed court costs.

A link to Rogers' complete ruling is available to the right of this article.

For more on this story, see tomorrow's Leaf-Chronicle.

It is tough enough one loses property, but it is unfathomable that, along with the violation of the Fifth Amendment, the individual's First Amendment rights are encumbered.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on April 30, 2009 (boomark / email).