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A Battle Over Water Comes to a Sweet End
Tuesday: The conclusion of a fight between a little town and a big timber company over who owned the rights to a pristine spring.
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The snow-capped dormant volcano Mount Shasta, as seen from the town of Weed, in Northern California.Credit.Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Good morning.
Nearly five years ago we brought you the story of a little town an hour south of the Oregon border that was doing battle with a big timber company over who owned the rights to a pristine spring that gurgles in the shadows of Mount Shasta, the majestic snow-capped dormant volcano.
The Public Participation Project said SLAPPs are effective because even meritless lawsuits can take years and thousands of dollars to defend.
In 2017, Siskiyou County Superior Court Judge Karen Dixon agreed Roseburg’s suit was a SLAPP and dismissed the charges against WCWC and The Weed 9.
Roseburg then appealed the dismissal. In December of 2019 – after the City of Weed agreed to to settle the original lawsuit and acknowledge it has no ownership of water from Beaughan Springs, Roseburg agreed to withdraw their claims.
As part of the judgement, Roseburg agreed to pay the city $50,000 towards attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by the matter. Both the city and Roseburg waived the right to recover any additional fees or costs.