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Green Group Holdings v. Schaeffer - Proposed Settlement Previously Offered to Defendants
Document Date:
June 1, 2016
Related Issues
Related Content
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AlabamaFeb 2017
Free Speech
Racial Justice
Green Group Holdings v. Schaeffer: Defense of Environmental Protesters Against Defamation Lawsuit
The ACLU is representing four people being sued for defamation because they exercised their right to free speech and voiced opposition to a coal ash landfill in their small town. The defendants, all residents of Uniontown, Alabama — a poor, predominantly Black town with a median per capita income of around $8,000 — are being sued for $30 million by Georgia-based Green Group Holdings because the residents are fighting the hazardous coal ash that the company keeps in a residential landfill. The ACLU asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit on First Amendment grounds. In February 2017, the parties reached a settlement in which the company dropped the lawsuit and agreed to better environmental protections at the landfill.Status: Closed (Settled)