GALVESTON – A local company specializing in the upkeep of beaches alleges a turtle rescue service has “published false and defamatory statements of fact about” it to third parties with the intent of harming its business.
Recent Galveston County District Court records show that Beachside Environmental, LLC brought a defamation lawsuit against Turtle Island Restoration Network on July 17 in the 56th District Court.
The 10-page suit explains that the plaintiff has been performing these services for its customers on Galveston Island since 2011 free of complaints, but the issuance of a retroactive beach cleaning and seaweed removal to the Galveston Park Board of Trustees by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2014 required the business to follow certain required procedures when conducting its operations.
The plaintiff reportedly must inform the Park Board and Joanie Steinhaus of TIRN that it would groom any beaches prior to performing the task.
Despite adhering to the requirements of the USACE permit, court papers state, Beachside was “repeatedly and falsely” accused by the Park Board and TIRN of grooming beaches without using the required spotter. Steinhaus, who joins her organization as a co-defendant in the litigation, allegedly made the spotter accusation at a public meeting of the Park Board’s Beach Maintenance Advisory Committee two months ago.
Beachside says neither the Park Board nor TIRN spoke to it personally about it supposedly grooming without a spotter. Legal counsel for the Park Board investigated and later determined these statements were false, but the defendants “continued making similar false statements about the plaintiff’s operation in an effort to ‘keep the pressure’ on the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s customers,” the original petition says.
Consequently, the complainant seeks unspecified monetary damages.
It is represented by Anthony P. Brown and Ashley B. Harshaw of the law firm McLeod, Alexander, Powel & Apffel, P.C. in Galveston.
Galveston County 56 th District Court Case No. 18-CV-0931