Little Pink House_ A True Story of Defiance and Courage - Jeff Benedict [73]
Sawyer recommended forming a limited-liability corporation (LLC) to shield them from liability. Rather than suing as individuals, the Steffians and the Hallquists could have the organization sue.
Hallquist liked the concept. “Let’s call it the Fort Trumbull Conservancy,” he said.
Sawyer explained the group would have to choose officers and establish by-laws. Later, Steve and Amy met privately with John and Sarah to map out the organization.
“Who is going to be what?” Steve asked.
“I’m going to be the president,” John said. “Sarah will be the vice president.”
Two positions remained: secretary and treasurer. “Which ones do you want to be?” John asked.
“Well, I suck at being a secretary,” Steve said. “And Amy’s already taking copious notes. So she’ll be secretary, and I’ll be treasurer.”
Normally, a treasurer handled finances and the secretary kept records, but Sarah made it clear that the Fort Trumbull Conservancy would do things a little differently. The treasurer would never see the financial books, and the secretary would never see the legal bills. The money would pass directly from Sarah to the attorney.
More than twenty-five members of the neighborhood coalition joined the Fort Trumbull Conservancy. The by-laws afforded them the chance to vote on the conservancy’s decisions and on strategies related to litigation.
With the conservancy in place, on July 18, 2000, Scott Sawyer filed a lawsuit on its behalf seeking to prevent the NLDC from demolishing homes in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.
Scott Bullock had now been monitoring events in New London for two months through weekly updates from Peter Kreckovic. Bullock had heard enough. The time had come to visit Fort Trumbull and interview the homeowners in search of prospective plaintiffs. He telephoned Susette and confirmed he’d be visiting the area in late August. He told her he wanted to meet with neighborhood residents. Susette volunteered her home as a meeting place.
Bullock asked her to round up as many neighbors as possible. “I’ve already done that,” she said. “I’ve just been waiting for you to say you are coming.”
Bullock liked the sound of that. He had already pegged her as the head fighter, a perfect candidate for the lead plaintiff role. They discussed possible dates and settled on August 28.
“Is it okay if I tell the newspaper that you’re coming?” Susette asked.
Bullock paused. The Institute for Justice still had not decided whether to intervene, partly due to the fact that the city had not yet filed any eminent-domain actions. In every potential eminent-domain case, Bullock’s first objective was to persuade the municipality not to resort to eminent domain. News that a national law firm was interviewing prospective clients might not be a bad idea, Bullock reasoned. If the city saw a lawsuit coming, perhaps it would change its plans.
“Sure,” Bullock said, “I’d be glad to talk to a reporter.”
Susette hung up and called Billy Von Winkle. “I’ve got some news,” she told him.
A little while later, he pulled up in his Jaguar. “We’re taking a ride,” he said.
She hopped in and immediately started talking about Scott Bullock’s visit. Eager to sue the city and convinced the Institute for Justice would save the neighborhood, Susette told Von Winkle she couldn’t wait to tell the newspaper.
“You gotta be careful,” Von Winkle said.
“Why?”
He warned her that the NLDC would punish her if she went too far.
“You know I’m not afraid of those people,” she said.
Von Winkle pulled the car over. “Red, you gotta listen to what I’m telling you here. When they offer you the money you better take it. If you don’t they’ll throw you out and you’ll get nothing.”
“What are you talking about?”
He detailed the NLDC’s strategy for getting rid of all property owners in the fort area, citing information from the NLDC’s confidential files.
“Well, how do you know this?” she asked.
“Because I have the documents.”
“How in the hell