furrier ordered to pay $97k

[Guest guest]

Awesome! My friend Mindy took part in the protestingOn 1/26/08, fraggle <EBbrewpunx wrote:

Schumachers ordered to pay $97,000 in protesters' legal feesJanuary 25, 2008 14:44PMA federal judge has ordered one of Portland's last furriers to pay nearly $97,000 in legalfees to the animal-rights protesters he has accused of destroying his family business.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman ordered Gregg Schumacher and Schumacher Furs & Outerwear to cover $43,186 in legal fees to People for the Ethical Treatmentof Animals; $34,735 to In Defense of Animals; and $18,950 to protester Kevin Mieras,

court records show. Schumacher and his wife Linda sued animal-rights protesters for a relentless campaignof Saturday protests that the couple maintains stepped over the bounds of free speechinto crimes and violations of city ordinances.

But Mosman threw out such claims in a series of rulings last year. This week,he signed an order compelling the Schumachers to pay the protesters' legal feesin the case. In his order, Mosman called the facts of the case " extraordinary " but

said the Schumachers had abused the legal process. " Although the (Schumachers) may have had meritorious claims against peoplewhose names they did not know, or even against the City of Portland, " Mosman

wrote, " they sued people against whom they had no evidence for $6.6 million,sought to restrict their First Amendment rights, and disparaged their reputationswith accusations of criminal conduct, terrorist affiliations and responsibility

for 'shutting down' a business whose financial solvency was questionablebefore the protesting activities began. " People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, one of the nation's most influential

animal-rights organizations, hailed the decision. " The court's decision is a victory for the First Amendment -- and foranimals, who rely on groups like PETA to convey their pain and protest their slaughter

for fur, " the organization's legal counsel, Bonnie Robson said in a preparedstatement released Friday. " The judge stopped the Schumachers' scheme to silence anti-fur criticsand ordered the furriers to pay PETA's attorney fees. "

Neither the Schumachers nor their lead attorney, Herb Grey, could immediately be reached for commentReal knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.ConfuciusTo send an email to -