Texas Homeowner Battles $3 Million Defamation Lawsuit For Exposing Fracking Company’s Pollution

[octoberlib]

Steve Lipsky, a Texas homeowner, has found himself at the center of a $3 million lawsuit for defamation from an oil and gas company, after he exposed the company for contaminating his water supply with methane and benzene.

Lipsky sued Range Resources originally in 2011, prompted by an Environmental Protection Agency order that Range Resources endangered Texas residents’ health. His case was dismissed, because the presiding judge claimed there was no jurisdiction, but Range Resources took the unusual step of countersuing Lipsky for libel. It alleged that Lipsky and others conspired to get “the EPA and the media to wrongly label and prosecute Range as a polluter of the environment.” The company said that his public video of Lipsky lighting on fire a methane-filled hose escaping from his water well was an unfair portrayal, even though Lipsky maintains he can still set the water on fire in a video from October.


For Range Resources, it’s common practice to silence critics through settlement agreements or lawsuits. In Pennsylvania, it settled with a homeowner with one major caveat: The entire family, including two young children, could never speak publicly about their polluted home — for the rest of their lives. These settlements mean there are an unknown number of times residents must choose between exposing a company and accepting compensation to relocate.
There are more threats facing homeowners in fracking territory, even beyond expensive libel lawsuits. At least 11 states have introduced anti-whistleblower “ag-gag” bills that could end up banning the public from filming fracking operations. By criminalizing watchdog actions, activists worry these bills will only contribute to the secrecy that surrounds contamination from the industry.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/11/08/2913651/steve-lipsky-range-resources/

[Champion Jack]

1. Isn't range resources the same company that put a gag order on two little kids?

[octoberlib]

2. Yep. I think it must be this family from

Pennsylvania mentioned in the article.

For Range Resources, it’s common practice to silence critics through settlement agreements or lawsuits. In Pennsylvania, it settled with a homeowner with one major caveat: The entire family, including two young children, could never speak publicly about their polluted home — for the rest of their lives.

[msongs]

3. thanks to the dems/repubs passed laws that allow this sort of thing to happen. then again, its all

about who greases the campaign skids eh? and the judges who don't throw this crap out of court of course. after all, no lawsuits, no need to pay judges

[freshwest]

4. Oh, so easily proveable facts are defamation now? This is an abuse of the law. n/t

[octoberlib]

6. Yes, it is. They're probably hoping Lipsky will settle so they can put a gag order

on him. I hope he can pursue this to a higher court.

[derby378]

5. Lipsky lives a couple of counties west of Dallas...

...where we have scored a decent victory in the City Council chambers against a company that wanted to start fracking within Dallas County limits, with some of the wells very close to neighborhoods and churches. Our City Planning Commission has instituted new setback rules that make it almost impossible to frack anywhere in the county, and the City Council couldn't muster enough votes to override the new rules.

However, this doesn't mean the saga is over. The drilling companies who leased the land from Dallas County are considering an expensive lawsuit, not to mention possible legal avenues around the new setback ordinances.

But I know of Lipsky's story, and I wish there was something we could do for him. Range Resources practically chased the EPA out of the courtroom, leaving Lipsky and his family all alone before the judge and a bunch of ravenous vultures who are sharpening their knives.

[octoberlib]

7. Good for Dallas county!

I think the drillers only weapon is to try to wear people down through lawsuits. I hope both Lipsky and Dallas county prevail.

[Coyotl]

8. Money talks, truth takes a hike...