January 16, 2016
Arkansas

Company behind proposed Elm Springs wind farm sues local couple

By Daniel Armbruster | KHBS | Jan 15, 2016 | www.4029tv.com

The company behind a proposed wind farm has sued a couple opposed to the project.

A Facebook page, titled “Stop the Elm Springs Wind Farm,” has chronicled criticism of the proposed wind farm, which is to be built by Dragonfly Industries.

Dragonfly filed the suit in the Washington County Circuit Court on Thursday.

The suit alleges that Jonathan Hamby and Vivian Hamby published defamatory statements on the Facebook page about Dragonfly, including that they “have a long criminal history of scamming people out of money” and “do these people look like ‘experts’ in wind energy to you, or do they look like career criminals who scam people…?” Dragonfly says the statements are false, and that they were published with malice, because the defendants showed a “reckless disregard for the truth.”

The suit asks the court to order the Hambys to remove the statements from their Facebook page and pay damages to the company.

Click here to see the lawsuit.

40/29 News has reached out to Dragonfly Industries but has not received a response.

An attorney for the Hambys released a statement in response, saying “We have received the self filed lawsuit from Jody Davis intended to intimidate Mr. and Mrs Hamby and believe its allegations to be baseless and unfounded in Arkansas Law. We further anticipate filing a Motion to Dismiss in this case. The truth is an absolute defense in any defamation case, and everything said was factual or opinion covered by the first amendment.”

The project has faced criticism from some residents of Elm Springs and those who live around the property, including state Rep. Robin Lundstrum.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/01/16/company-behind-proposed-elm-springs-wind-farm-sues-local-couple/