Ballis fighting wind farm
SARITA — Three years after the courts ruled against their claim to their ancestors’ land, members of the Balli family said they’ll keep fighting.
Since July, about 40 family members have staged protests against the developer of a wind farm, claiming it is intruding on their land claim awarded more than 200 years ago by the King of Spain.
“They’re trespassing on our property,” said Nicholas Balli, a mechanic in Harlingen.
The family will continue to protest the site where Babcock & Brown is developing a wind farm in Kenedy County. Family members have been protesting just outside the site.
“We want to bring attention to our family’s plight,” said Fred Balli, a computer specialist in Houston who is Nicholas Balli’s brother.
But under the law, it’s the family that could face trespassing charges, said John Calaway, chief development officer for Babcock & Brown in Houston.
“It’s harassment,” Calaway said. “They should be very careful not to infringe on other people’s title.
“It’s like somebody coming in and protesting in front of your house. I think it’s preposterous and ridiculous.”
In July, family members held their first protest near the wind farm, Fred Balli said.
They held a second protest last week, he said.
Family members believe the developer did not obtain their permission to build the wind farm on their ancestors’ land, said Gloria Gibney, a family member in Corpus Christi.
The family also wants to draw attention to its court struggle, she said.
“This is a total circus in South Texas,” Gibney, a businesswoman, said of the family’s court battle.
After five years of legal wrangling, the family did not have a jury trial, she said.
“We never had our day in court,” she said.
In 2005, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a ruling that found the family did not have title to the land they say was handed down to them from ancestors who received it from the King of Spain.
Family members may take their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, Gibney said.
10 October 2008
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