Terry Ellen Carter Legal Defense Fund (Woody v. Carter et al)
Third Time's a Charm?
(June 12, 2009) Rebecca Glenberg of the ACLU sent me another email today. "FYI, Woody's petition for rehearing denied."
Seems like we've heard this chorus twice before, and thought this nightmare was over. Maybe, now, it IS over. We must now wait to see if he starts over with a new and improved lawsuit. From the number of times the name "Roger Woody" appears in Virginia court records, I guess it wouldn't surprise me if he files another suit.
For those of you reaching this page for the first time, updates are all here, beginning with the newest info. There are a bunch of links to the initial press coverage here, with links to additional press coverage throughout this page.
Not Over After All
(April 22, 2009) We continue to be amazed. In Virginia, it seems, a Supreme Court decision isn't really "final." Between the moment the decision is made and the moment the decision actually goes into effect the losing side (Roger Woody) can ask for a do-over, called a "Petition for Rehearing." If the Supreme Court of Virginia really is the supreme court of Virginia, that's just plain dumb.
However, it's the law, and Mr. Woody has taken that opportunity to drag the lawsuit on even longer.
WOOT!! REALLY, Finally
(April 10, 2009) My ACLU attorney, Rebecca Glenberg, sent me an email yesterday afternoon. Here's what she said:
"I've just received an order from the Supreme Court denying Woody’s petition for appeal. He has no further avenues for appeal, so that concludes the case."
The Virginia Lawyers Weekly summarized our case here in an article posted April 27, 2009.
I am so glad this is over. Now, I can get back to the job we were trying to tackle in the first place - all of the ugly, dangerous crap that the Town of Christiansburg allows to accumulate and fester around construction sites (active and inactive - although there's no such thing as an inactive construction site in Christiansburg) within the Town limits. Talk about lawsuits waiting to happen! Wait until little Bobby gashes himself to the bone while playing around the giant drill bits or rusty ditch diggers...
If you want a little piece of history, the now-famous Woodyville image is available on tshirts at www.CafePress.com/Cburger.
Nothing New to Add
(April 1, 2009) The plaintiff's attorney, who filed the appealed, explained that he skipped the whole "leave to amend" thing because he didn't have anything new to offer. I guess not having new information is a good excuse to spend taxpayer dollars on having the Supreme Court hear a case. Not that lots of taxpayer dollars hadn't been spent at the County level already. And lots of defendant's dollars on attorney's fees.
He reinforced his complete lack of understanding of Google ads, and repeated "I don't know why these ladies set up a misleading blog." And he was getting paid to do this. Maybe that's why he didn't appear in person. Who could deliver that kind of performance with a straight face?
The judges asked no questions. A decision is expected in 1 to 3 weeks.
Writ Panel Scheduled to Read Writing on the Wall
A writ panel of the Virginia Supreme Court will hear from the plaintiff as to why the Court should accept the appeal. The plaintiff's counsel is requesting to do this by phone. Apparently a case important enough for the Virginia Supreme Court is not important enough for plaintiff's counsel to haul himself all the way (3 hours) to Richmond. The writ panel is scheduled for April 1, 2009. No fooling.
Petition Filed
Mr. Woody's attorney filed the petition to appeal with the Virginia Supreme Court on January 26, 2009. We are case number 090189. I'm reading a wonderful book called "The Collapse of the Common Good: How America's Lawsuit Culture Undermines our Freedom." Perhaps Woody v. Carter et al will be an example in the next edition.
Case Appealed: Appalling
(January 9, 2009) The *&% has appealed. At least he didn't wait the full 21 days to do it. Although the Judge gave the plaintiff leave to amend, he didn't amend. He passed GO and is trying to head directly to the Virginia Supreme Court.
The *^*%'s counsel will file a brief explaining why the VA Supreme Court should hear the case. Counsel for the defendants will file briefs in opposition, explaining why the case is ridiculous and should be thrown out.
No clue on the time line. The delays - which I feel are harassment - continue.
Demurrer Sustained - They're Outta Here!
(October 31, 2008) Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ray Grubbs sustained the demurrers submitted by the ACLU on my behalf and by Tacy Newell-Foutz's attorney! In street talk, we won!! You'll remember that a demurrer is a motion to dismiss; case dismissed.
The Judge gave the plaintiff 21 days leave to amend. That means they can correct their paper and turn it in for a better grade. Reading the Judge's ruling, there's no indication of anything that could have been done better. The case just doesn't hold up. So, in 3 weeks this will really be over.
Kudos to the Judge for having the courage to decide in favor of the truth, rather than in favor of a long-time crony.
And, thanks to the ACLU for taking on this SLAPP in the face of all citizen activists - and for winning.
Rush to Condemn, Dawdle to Absolve
(October 3, 2008) My friend Elizabeth seems to remember the judge saying "6-8 weeks" not simply the six week timeline I remembered. Doesn't really matter either way, since the demurrer hearing was NINE WEEKS AGO yesterday.
This judge is clearly pained to have to decide between the First Amendment and anti-SLAPP laws, and his friend who donated land to his pet project, a new courthouse.
The plaintiff's attorney has not filed paperwork to drop from the suit the two women who have nothing to do with any of this.
Meanwhile, Mt. Woody is getting a makeover! The dirt pile is having an addition put onto the east side, dried clay delivered by the dump truck full. The Christiansburg Town Manager says Mt. Woody is a stockpile of topsoil. With this addition, it is clear that that definition is a stockpile of cow patties.
I'll leave the previous notes, below, for those new to this page. The paragraphs are getting a little disjointed, but the old news is still relevant.
Court Hearing
On July 31, at 9:30 am, there was a hearing on the demurrers filed by the ACLU and counsel for the co-defendants.
Indications are that arguments for the defendants were much stronger than those presented by the plaintiff's attorney. The plaintiff himself, Mr. Woody, did not bother to attend.
A decision is expected by the court within six weeks. A first step could be dismissing charges against two of the individuals named - named because they had been seen at the same public meetings that me and another defendant attend, according to plaintiff's counsel. Of course Mr. Woody has also been seen at the same public meetings as the defendants...
Press coverage since the hearing includes:
Woody's suit is a pile of...dirt (August 3, 2008 Roanoke Times)
Montgomery Co. court hears legal dirt (August 1, 2008 Roanoke Times)
Background
You may know that a wealthy Christiansburg developer, Roger Woody, has sued me and 3 other women for, among other things, blogging about the giant dirt heap on property his company owns in Christiansburg. His claims his reputation is damaged because I dubbed the heap "Mt. Woody." Truly, I didn't make that up (either his claim or the name of the dirt pile)!
Seriously, blog entries complained about lack of governance and oversight in Christiansburg, only twice using Mr. Woody's company's projects as examples. The blog, ThinkChristiansburg.com has not been shut down in spite of the pressure of a $31,050,000 lawsuit - three counts at $10,350,000 each. (Links to press coverage are at the bottom of this page.)
The ACLU has taken the case, and many people are expressing confidence that the First Amendment and freedom of speech will prevail over this nasty effort to intimidate activists into silence.
Please Donate
Before the ACLU took the case, my local law firm tallied up a full day's work - which they shared with the ACLU. Donations are coming in slowly but steadily, and I now need only about $1,400 to finish paying the bill.
Please help keep the First Amendment right to free speech alive in Christiansburg, the New River Valley, and nationwide.
By Mail
To donate by mail, send a check made out to "Terry Ellen Carter Legal Defense Fund" to the following address. (If you slip in a note with "from Your Name," the bank will forward that to me - that's the only way I'll know it was you!)
National Bank
Attn: Terry Ellen Carter Legal Defense Fund
PO Box 90002
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9002
By PayPal
It's fast, easy and secure. Your payment is processed through PayPal over a secure web connection.
Simply fill in the amount you want to contribute. Click the Donate button. This page will automatically take you to PayPal where you can pay using your PayPal account.
Thank You
I'll close the account as soon as I've paid my bill. Any leftover funds will be donated to the Amercian Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.
Local Press Coverage (chronological order)
Christiansburg developer files suit over blog (May 6, 2008 Roanoke Times)
Don't speak ill of Roger Woody (May 7, 2008 Roanoke Times)
ACLU Defends Christiansburg Citizen’s First Amendment Right to Criticize Developer (May 23, 2008 www.ACLUVA.org)
ACLU says lawsuit is groundless (May 24, 2008 Roanoke Times)
Speech: A Freedom We Can't Afford to Lose (May 28, 2008 News Messenger)
Town, it seems, has gone to the blogs (June 27, 2008 NRV Current)