Summary Judgment

Here's a 24-page verified summary judgment motion that prevented a young couple from losing their tiny pig farm to the demands of wealthy country-club developers who wished to build a golf course across the street from the muddy farm and didn't care for the smell of pigs or the sound of music the farming couple played to promote their pigs' health (supposedly to make the pork more tender).

The case made the local papers and even got radio and TV coverage. The country club hired an expensive law firm and tried everything in the book to shut down the farm. (Pig smell and music interferes with putters' concentration.)

This was a pro bono case, i.e., we decided to fight for the rights of some nice people who couldn't afford to pay, but the reward of seeing the country club lose was well worth the effort.

This long and detailed summary judgment motion is fun reading!

The names are changed, of course, but the motion is fundamentally the same as the paper we filed to save the pig-raising family from ruin. It demonstrates how the power of money can be overcome by American principles of due process wisely applied with courage and conviction.

Those who say "the little guy" hasn't a chance in today's courts need to read this powerful 24-page motion and see how lawsuits (even against the rich and powerful) can be won by those who deserve to win ... if the rules are used the way Jurisdictionary explains.