It was if I had written the script.

A builder filed a $25 million lawsuit against the residents of the Clipper Mill community who objected to his proposed development.

This is a SLAPP suit.

A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation is designed to intimidate citizens from participating in a public process.  To keep them from exercising their First Amendment rights before a public body, in this instance the Baltimore City Planning Commission.

I introduced the bill that enables a judge to dismiss a SLAPP suit.  Instead of spending time and money in burdensome pre-trial hearings, a person or a community can ask a judge to find that they have been SLAPP’ed.  If the judge agrees, the suit is dismissed – much earlier than is normally the case.

The sticking point in this instance was the law’s requirement to prove that the SLAPP suit was brought in “bad faith.”

The judge found that it was.

As fate would have it, I am introducing a bill that would remove the “bad faith” requirement from the law.

This legislation passed the House of Delegates in March but was not acted upon by the Senate since we adjourned early.

I will ask one of the Clipper Mill residents who was SLAPPed to testify for the bill.

It’s always better to personalize the case for your bill.

Developer Larry Jennings loses his $25 million suit against Clipper Mill residents | Baltimore Brew