The Austin Chronicle: News: Alcoa, von Gonten Family Reach Settlement in Legal Fight
Ending what many considered an effort to intimidate and silence its critics, Alcoa Inc., operator of a massive aluminum smelter and coal-fired power plant in Rockdale, about 60 miles northeast of Austin, inked a settlement in Milam County Court last Tuesday after filing a motion in September seeking more than $550,000 in legal fees from the von Gonten family, whose members sued the company in 2003 for area air pollution and for dumping coal combustion waste on their property without their consent. Alcoa sought fees and sanctions against the family's lawyer, Michelle McFaddin – a frequent Alcoa opponent representing community groups in environmental cases – for filing a frivolous lawsuit. "This has all the markings of a SLAPP suit [activist lingo meaning 'strategic lawsuits against public participation'], with Alcoa's goal being to discourage citizens from taking action when the company pollutes their property or damages their health," said Travis Brown, energy policy director of consumer-advocate group Public Citizen.
Alcoa backfilled a pipeline easement on the von Gonten family's property in 1992 with coal bottom ash from a TXU plant the company uses to power its smelter. The ash is known to contain varying amounts of toxic heavy metals. The family's suit was dropped last summer due to waning funds, as well as discrepancies over ownership of the property among family members who were plaintiffs in the suit, according to McFaddin.
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