Dear Friends,  

Several days ago one of our supporters posted the following comment:

Dear J.R. Ewing, I am associated with a group that had approached the owners of Southfork regarding purchase of the property. The attorney for the Southfork owners called me on Monday and asked me to try to get word to the sponsor of this petition to request that it be taken down. He was particularly unhappy that Forever company email addresses were listed. Will you take the petition down? I promised to attempt to reach the sponsor of this petition and relay this request. Making a comment to your petition is the only way I know to do so and keep my promise. A response would be appreciated. Thank you.

Cancel Culture and free speech suppressers are at it again!!!!! 

I'M MAD FRIENDS! I'M PISSED OFF! AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO!!! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL I VOLUNTARILY TAKE THIS PETITION DOWN!!!!!!!  J.R. LOVES A GOOD FIGHT!!!!

Now, I did remove some names and email addresses from this petition to protect my supporter and the sensibilities of this corporate lawyer, but let's be frank, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to discover the identity of the owner of Southfork.  In this the "information age"  it doesn't take a rocket scientist to discover corporate structure.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to surf through public records and a few related websites to identify key decision makers and once those names are identified combined with some basic search engines and services which provide corporate emails to come up with contact information.  Seriously????

Now I had some legal research done after looking at this situation and Thank God there are laws that protect each of our rights to speak our minds, associate with whoever the hell we want, and to petition anyone we want for the redress of our grievances.  

As the internet started to expand into everyday life and people began using it as a place to exchange information, a problem developed.

When someone would say something bad about a person or business or gave a less than favorable review, that person or business would often file suit against the person giving the review. They would claim defamation or business disparagement or tortuous interference. The lawsuit was a strategy by the plaintiff rather than a one-time suit. These cases were costly to the person being sued, even if they won the case.

Most states, including Texas, passed citizen participation acts commonly referred to as Anti-Slapp statutes. Slapp means Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. See Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 27.001 et. seq. These citizen participation acts sought to protect a person’s free speech right and give a quick mechanism to dismiss these complaints and punish the person who filed suit. 

The Texas Anti-Slapp statute says that it applies if: “the legal action is based on, relates to, or is in response to the party’s exercise of: (1) the right of free speech; (2) the right to petition; or (3) the right of association.” id § 27.005.

The right of free speech means a communication made in connection with a matter of public concern.

The right of association means a communication between individuals who join together to collectively express, promote, pursue, or defend common interests.

The right to petition includes more than a dozen categories of communications, including those related to judicial proceedings, public meetings, and even those reasonably likely to enlist public participation in government proceedings.

When a defendant successfully invokes the Texas Anti-Slapp statute, the court must dismiss the claim and award attorney’s fees and sanctions against the plaintiff who brought the suit.

As I read the comments to this petition it is clear that Southfork is iconic, it is beloved, it is internationally known, it is a subject of great fame and public interest, it is a landmark, it personifies and represents the Spirit of Dallas and of this Great State of Texas.  

THE FUTURE USE OF SOUTHFORK RANCH IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR BY NOT ONLY GETTING THE ATTENTION OF THE OWNER, BUT THE CITY OF PARKER AND ANY DEVELOPERS WHO WOULD DARE DESTROY A PART OF TEXAS CULTURAL HISTORY.

We just passed over 2,100 signatures on this petition to save Southfork Ranch from the bulldozers of developers who want to flip lots to homebuilders.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!

WILL YOU CONTINUE TO HELP BY SHARING THIS WITH TEN OTHER PEOPLE?  I HOPE THESE WRONGFUL EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS OUR VOICES MAKES YOU AS MAD AS ME!!!!  STAND STRONG KNOWING THERE ARE LAWS WITH TEETH IN THEM THAT PROTECT YOUR RIGHT AND MINE TO SAY WHAT WE THINK.

HERE'S A LINK TO SHARE:

https://www.change.org/p/save-the-legendary-southfork-ranch-from-developers

Thank you friends of Southfork Ranch!!!

Sincerely,

J.R. Ewing