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Home > Sienna/Johnson Development v. Calvin

Sienna/Johnson Development v. Calvin [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 11:54

Summary

Threat Type: 

Lawsuit

Date: 

12/13/2005

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Injunction Issued
Settled (total)

Location: 

Texas

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Defamation
Public Nuisance
Tortious Interference
Trade Libel
In December 2005, Texas real estate developer Sienna/Johnson Development and its senior vice president Douglas Goff sued Chris Calvin and the Committee for Responsible Development (an organization co-chaired by Calvin).  Sienna and Goff alleged that Calvin posted critical comments about them on... read full description
Parties

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Chris Calvin; Committee for Responsible Development

Type of Party: 

Individual
Organization

Type of Party: 

Individual
Organization

Location of Party: 

  • Texas

Location of Party: 

  • Texas

Legal Counsel: 

Jeffrey Singer

Legal Counsel: 

John Keville - Lee Keller King
Description

In December 2005, Texas real estate developer Sienna/Johnson Development and its senior vice president Douglas Goff sued Chris Calvin and the Committee for Responsible Development (an organization co-chaired by Calvin).  Sienna and Goff alleged that Calvin posted critical comments about them on three community websites and used multiple pseudonyms to create a false impression of widespread community opposition to the developer's plans to build apartments near his home.  The complaint, filed in Texas state court, included claims for defamation, business disparagement, public nuisance, and tortuous interference with prospective contract.

In December 2006, the parties settled the case. As part of the settlement, they jointly moved the court to enter an "Agreed Permanent Injunction," which prohibited Calvin and his wife Amy from posting anonymous or pseudonymous statements about Goff, Sienna, or any of their partners, affiliates, directors, officers, or employees.  The agreed injunction specifically excluded "truthful critical statements" made in the Calvins' own names.  The court issued the agreed injunction and dismissed the case.

Related Links: 

  • Houston Chronicle: Developer Files Lawsuit Over Website Statements [2]
  • The Blogging Journalist: Blogging Under 24 Names [3]
  • Fort Bend Herald: Developer lawsuit accuses resident of misinformation  [4]
  • ABC13, KTRK: Homeowner who assumed names to protest now faces lawsuit [5]
  • Fort Bend County: Case Records [6] (Search under Civil Records, Case Number 05-DCV-146667; click "Images" in upper right-hand corner to see image files for first page of underlying documents )
Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

Missouri City Chatter [7]

Sienna Talk (defunct)

Missouri City Talk (defunct)

 

Content Type: 

  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Forum

Subject Area: 

  • Defamation
  • Anonymity
  • Prior Restraints
  • User Comments or Submissions
  • Real Estate
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • Texas

Source of Law: 

  • Texas

Court Name: 

Fort Bend County District Court (TX)

Court Type: 

State

Case Number: 

05-DCV-146667
CMLP Information (Private)

Priority: 

1-High

CMLP Notes: 

Docket available via search at http://tylerpaw.co.fort-bend.tx.us/default.aspx.  There's also a suit involving the same parties (07-CV-154927) listed as an "Accounts, Contracts, and Notes" case.  Presumably it's something tangental to the original suit -- nonpayment of some award or somesuch -- but worth checking out to make sure.

Source: Houston Chronicle 

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Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:08pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/siennajohnson-development-v-calvin

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/siennajohnson-development-v-calvin
[2] http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2005_4027388
[3] http://www.thebloggingjournalist.com/2006/01/blogging_under_.html
[4] http://www.herald-coaster.com/articles/2006/01/02/news/news03.txt
[5] http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=3810084
[6] http://tylerpaw.co.fort-bend.tx.us/default.aspx
[7] http://missouricitychatter.blogspot.com/