By Sheila Calderon & Kay Gates
Maggy Hurchalla, our Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group's 2019 Environmental Champion, has made her mark over many years as a protector of the Everglades and our environment. She never ceases to speak out in efforts to protect our wetlands and the natural wild places we have continued to destroy. Maggy is a "court recognized expert on Martin's protective growth plan," as one reporter put it.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Florida case involving the rights of citizens to publicly criticize developers. The decision upholds a $4.4 million judgment against environmentalist and former Martin County commissioner Maggy Hurchalla (who is late U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno's sister).
Hurchalla spent seven years fighting the lawsuit brought against her by Lake Point Restoration, a rock mining company. She criticized the project to the Martin County Commission, and the developer filed suit. Lake Point sued not only Maggy, but also the South Florida Water Management District and Martin County. Both entities gave the developer what he wanted in order to end the lawsuit. The developer's continuing suit against Maggy is what we call a "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" or SLAPP. Maggy made every effort to appeal the case but has now reached the end of her pursuit.
Maggy recently wrote:
No reason was given. We kept the faith. We fought the good fight. We finished the race. The Supreme Court has denied review of the Lake Point case. I would have thought that these times, above all others, would affirm the importance of the First Amendment right to peacefully tell government what to do. That's important to all sides on every issue. Without it, there is no "We the people". If you can't sort out what's right by public discussion, the alternatives are dictatorship or violence.
I am so proud of my lawyers, my family, my friends and my supporters who have been with me all the way. They have convinced me that, though this case is over, someone else will come forward and one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, the Supreme Court will re-affirm the First Amendment rights we all thought we had.
We are at the end of the road in the Lake Point case, but the first amendment is not dead, it's just dangling. I'm not at all sorry that I have spent the last 7 years fighting for it. Meanwhile I'm going kayaking and I'm going to keep on saying what I think.
What can you do to help?
1. Publicize what happened. Pass it on to everyone you know. Share information from her website.
2. Encourage attorneys to write law review articles. If you belong to an advocacy group, join Protect the Protest. Locally and nationally, they are the lead group organizing against SLAPP suits.
3. Advocate in our state. Florida needs a SLAPP protection law since the one in place is useless. Other states have adopted anti-SLAPP laws recognizing that public participation will be killed if corporations can continue to sue every critic for "tortious interference." New York State has a good anti-SLAPP law; see: NY State Senate Bill S52A.
4. Send a donation. On behalf of Maggy, we are asking you to assist her by making donations to her SLAPP-Back Fund in order to enable her to pay the legal fees owed for her fight. She can receive contributions to pay ongoing legal bills through the fund (she gets nothing from it personally). It is handled by a trustee, and funds can only go to her legal expenses.
Our Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group will be matching funds up to $500, in total. When contributing to the fund as a result of this article, please let us know by sending an email to sclox4mh@gmail.com indicating the amount of your donation along with a copy of your online donation receipt.
Maggy apologizes for not sending thank you notes. Mail checks to Maggy's SLAPP-Back Fund, PO Box 891, Stuart, FL 34997 or go online to www.slappmaggy.com and click the Donate button on the left.
Thank you!