http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x157021

One of the nuclear goons attempted to physically block Rickard's access to the public hearing and they thrice asked him to leave the public hearing. Rickards, endeavoring to slip past, bumped bellies with the goon and refused to leave the public hearing. Rickards was arrested because the locale of the public hearing was a private hall whose owner, presumably paid by the nuke merchants, charged him with trespass. The nuke merchant goon charged him with battery for the belly incident. Instead of just handing Rickard the tickets charging him with these misdemeanors the sherrif figured justice would also be served by arresting and hauling him to the clink.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x185055

Nuke Developer's Suit Against Snake River Alliance Dismissed
Jan. 26, 2009

The Fourth Judicial District Court in Ada County has dismissed the lawsuit brought against the Snake River Alliance by the developer of a proposed nuclear reactor above the Snake River in Elmore County. The dismissal establishes that Alliance Executive Director Andrea Shipley did not defame the company by referring to it and its chief officer as “scammers.”

Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. sued the Alliance and Shipley on Aug. 22, charging that Shipley defamed it by pointing out its financial and administrative struggles, and by concluding that “these guys are scamming Idahoans.” At the time Chief Executive Officer Don Gillispie boasted that “someone has to hold them accountable. They have used defamation tactics since the day we announced this plant and the media has {sic} obliged them by spreading their fabrications.” He also accused the Alliance of attempting to drive down the price of AEHI stock, which on Tuesday night was listed at 7.5 cents a share with more than 74 million shares outstanding. In its Complaint AEHI asked the Court to require the Snake River Alliance and Shipley to retract their statements, to prohibit them from further “disparaging statements,” and to award it money damages.

The Snake River Alliance immediately moved to dismiss AEHI’s lawsuit. The Alliance defended Shipley’s statements of opinion concerning AEHI as free speech protected from liability by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. In its brief to the Court the Alliance cautioned that “permitting this punitively designed action to proceed would have a chilling effect on public discourse over AEHI’s controversial project.”

When the time came for AEHI to respond, it merely filed a document indicating it did not dispute the Alliance’s contention that Ms. Shipley’s statements were not defamatory as they expressed her opinions on an issue of public concern. AEHI attempted to explain itself by claiming that it had “filed this lawsuit in order to establish either (1) that the alleged statement of fact was false and defamatory, or (2) that this statement was merely one of opinion and not fact.” Upon this filing, the Court promptly dismissed AEHI’s lawsuit “on the merits,” and entered a Judgment in favor of the Alliance and Ms. Shipley.

Lead counsel for the Alliance, David Knotts, commented, “AEHI’s explanation for its lawsuit is totally belied by the Complaint it filed against my clients. AEHI sued for defamation, and asked the Court to muzzle my clients and punish them with a substantial monetary judgment. There was no request for the Court to find Ms. Shipley’s statements to be opinions, which are by definition non-defamatory. By acquiescing to the Motion to Dismiss, AEHI really is admitting that its defamation lawsuit was meritless from the beginning.”

<snip>