WILLARDS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SaveFarmFamilies.org members from around the country were outraged upon learning that the University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic had accepted an award for “distinguished achievement” for their Clean Water Act (CWA) case against Berlin, Md.-based farmers Alan and Kristin Hudson before the case has even gone to trial. The situation is particularly troubling considering that the Clinic, which is funded by Maryland taxpayer dollars, is providing free legal counsel for the cash rich Waterkeeper Alliance, an out-of-state extremist group headed up by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suing a fourth generation Maryland farm family.
“The decision to accept this award just doesn’t seem right to the community given the fact that large numbers of Maryland residents and political leaders have opposed the Clinic’s role in this case,” said Lee Richardson, a member of SaveFarmFamilies.org. “This case has yet to go to trial, so how can the Clinic possibly accept an award for distinguished achievement before the facts are even presented?”
In November 2011, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley wrote a letter to Phoebe Haddon, dean of the University of Maryland School of Law to express his concerns about the Clinic’s involvement in the case, calling it a “misuse of state resources” that “perpetuates an injustice.”
Regardless of the Governor’s concerns, in a recent news release announcing the award, Dean Haddon stated that “we are delighted that the ABA has recognized the superlative work of our students, [director] Jane Barrett and the faculty of our Environmental Law Program.”
Contrary to Dean Haddon’s remarks, in the most recent court ruling on March 1, 2012, Judge William Nickerson criticized the University of Maryland clinic’s work by stating that the lengthy briefings by plaintiff “not only circumvents the spirit if not the letter of the Local Rules, but also makes for less than compelling advocacy. While this style might be appropriate for legal journals that few attempt to read, it is not helpful in the context of litigation.”
Moreover, the Waterkeepers have based their case against the Hudsons on a situation which the family has already been investigated and cleared of by the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE). Their lawsuit accuses the Hudsons of creating a “longstanding manure pile” that discharges pollutants via “trenches” into a field ditch in violation of the CWA. However, the Hudson Farm has never had a “longstanding manure pile.” The Waterkeepers made this accusation because they mistakenly thought a lawfully obtained pile of biosolids, delivered to the farm from Ocean City, was chicken litter. Regardless of the facts, the Waterkeepers, aided by the Environmental Law Clinic and their public relations vehicle Food & Water Watch (FWW), decided to continue with the case aimed at putting this young farm family out of business.
“It is becoming more apparent that there has been a long and coordinated effort between the Environmental Law Clinic, the Waterkeepers, and now Food & Water Watch to attack Maryland agriculture,” said Val Connelly of the Maryland Farm Bureau. “As the facts and public support have waned for the plaintiffs in this case, they have amplified their PR efforts and looked for ways to justify their tactics.”
According to the Waterkeepers 2011 Annual Report, the group aims to push policy through “hard-nosed litigation” tactics.
The Waterkeeper Alliance has developed a large stable of seasoned trial lawyers to drive its policies, one of whom is Professor Jane Barrett, director of the University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Clinic. Professor Barrett has a history of working with the Waterkeepers and was an early architect of the lawsuit. In 2007, the Waterkeepers hosted an Eastern Shore Poultry Summit, which included Professor Barrett who, according to a local newspaper report, “called environmentalists to action by persuading them to monitor activity and use legal action as the best way to change behavior.” At the 2010 Annual Waterkeeper Convention, Professor Barrett and Assateague Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips gave a presentation outlining the strategic framework for the CWA lawsuit against the Hudsons and Perdue Farms.
Community supporters of the Hudsons created SaveFarmFamilies.org in order to protect struggling farm families from bankruptcy brought on by unfounded lawsuits filed by radical environmental groups. SaveFarmFamilies.org has raised public awareness of the tactics used by environmental groups to manipulate the legal system in order to advance their agenda.
For more information on the lawsuit visit: www.savefarmfamilies.org