April 4, 2014 at 3:14 p.m.
Oneida County supervisor sued for libel
Case stems from 2012 email
Oneida County supervisor sued for libel
County resident James Kroeger filed the lawsuit last month in Oneida County Circuit Court, claiming that as a result of the email, he "has suffered loss of his reputation, shame, mortification and injury to his feelings."
According to public records, Mott sent the email as part of a long-running dispute between Kroeger and his neighbors over his woodcutting business. Since at least 2010, neighbors have complained of chainsaw noise and vehicle traffic on Kroeger's property near Pelican Lake, but Kroeger has claimed that his business has not violated any rules and that noise levels have not been excessive.
The county had issued a conditional use permit in September 2011 limiting the hours of operation Kroeger could continuously operate equipment, among other restrictions. Though the county Board of Adjustment upheld the CUP, the board noted that the permit was not actually required for a part-time woodcutting business.
According to the lawsuit, Mott sent the allegedly libelous email on July 25, 2012, to county officials and a concerned citizen. The message claimed that Kroeger was not following the conditions of the conditional use permit, and that he had been cutting wood on weekends and holidays for private use. The email also claimed that Kroeger was "violating the spirit of the CUP in that he is cutting and disturbing the neighborhood."
"Mr. Kr[o]eger could have been a good neighbor and cut his personal wood at the times in the CUP and avoided further aggravating his neighbors," Mott wrote. "He chose to aggravate."
The suit claims that portions of the email are false, though the complaint does not specify precisely which portions. Kroeger also argues that he was performing a legal activity.
He is seeking unspecified damages and court costs.
Mott declined to discuss the case with a reporter. An insurance company for Oneida County is in the process of retaining an attorney for him, according to county Corporation Counsel Brian Desmond.
Whether Kroeger has an attorney is unclear. He also has declined to discuss the case, and he referred questions to Wausau lawyer Keith Ellison, but Ellison was unable to confirm Friday morning as to the particular nature of his involvement in the case. The complaint filed in court does not indicate that Kroeger has formal legal representation.
The statute of limitations on libel claims is two years in Wisconsin, meaning that Kroeger would have had until July 25 of this year to file suit.
Mott will have to file an answer to the lawsuit by the end of this month.
Jonathan Anderson may be reached at [email protected]
Comments:
You must login to comment.