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A Baltimore City Councilwoman is suing a blogger for $21mil!


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2011 May 18, 10:23am   5,267 views  20 comments

by Baltimore8   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

A Baltimore City Councilwoman is suing a blogger for $21million because he wrote about her property tax records which show that she lives outside of Baltimore City in the suburb of Randallstown instead of inside of the city (Baltimore) she is supposed to represent.

The Baltimore Sun Covered the story here:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/maryland/baltimore-insider-blog/bal-councilwoman-belinda-conaway-sues-examiner-columnist-adam-meister-20110510,0,4265291.story

Here are the original blogger stories:
http://www.examiner.com/politics-in-baltimore/belinda-conaway-lives-randallstown-and-mary-conaway-is-unmarried

http://www.examiner.com/politics-in-baltimore/belinda-conaway-receives-a-homestead-property-tax-credit-randallstown

She is clearly trying to sue the Blogger to shut him up. A typical SLAPP suit. You can google his name (Adam Meister) or her name (Belinda Conaway) and find links to other stories about this hot topic. It needs to be expanded upon though.

I have never heard of a sitting politician suing a blogger because she did not like what he wrote! She has called much more attention to his post than he ever would have gotten otherwise.

Comments 1 - 20 of 20        Search these comments

1   elliemae   2011 May 18, 2:31pm  

Actually, he writes for Examiner, which will hire anyone to write anything without really checking. However, that's legitimate as a news source.

I wonder if anyone will follow her around and take pictures, ala Gary Hart? Either she lives there, or she doesn't. If she doesn't, claiming the homesteader tax credit appears to be tax evasion to me.

2   zzyzzx   2011 May 18, 11:12pm  

I've met Adam, and even without reading the story, I'm guessing that it's 100% true. That and Adam doesn't have 21 million. I'd be suprised if he had 21K.

4   FortWayne   2011 May 19, 12:32am  

shrekgrinch says

There’s still a running battle in the courts over defining bloggers as real journalists…as if credentials should ever limit someones freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Amen.

5   LetThemEatIpods   2011 May 19, 2:38am  

Patrick:

One more interesting twist...(and I know this because I live in Baltimore in Adam Meister's neighborhood/district)...Ms. Conaway is suing her soon to be constituent. The community fought an aggressive but futile battle not to be gerrymandered into Ms. Conaway's West Baltimore District and to stay in the Central District where the neighborhood is historically connected. Such is Baltimore politics.

Lastly, Adam is a person of high integrity and your other commentor was right...he would not intentionally publish material or information that was not factual.

6   Baltimore   2011 Jun 26, 12:46am  

Here is an update:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/2011/06/city_councilwoman_conaway_sign.html

"City Councilwoman signed doc calling county home "primary residence"

A Baltimore City Councilwoman who is suing a local blogger for reporting that she “does not reside” in the city signed a document last year certifying that her primary residence was in Baltimore County.

Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, who lists her father’s Northwest Baltimore home on city documents as her official residence, signed a mortgage agreement last year indicating that the house she bought in Randallstown in 1997 was her primary residence.

Conaway joined the City Council in 2004.

Contacted for a response on Monday, Conaway said: “You know I can't talk about that” and referred questions to her lawyer.

Attorney Thomas J. Maronick Jr. said the councilwoman and her husband signed the document “inadvertently.”

and:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/2011/06/conaway_suit_could_chill_free.html

"Conaway suit could "chill free speech in Baltimore," blogger says

Blogger Adam Meister has asked a judge to dismiss the $21 million law suit that Baltimore City Councilwoman Belinda Conaway brought against him after he reported she signed documents indicating she lived in Baltimore County.

The suit "if allowed to proceed, will chill free speech in Baltimore," an attorney for Meister wrote in a motion asking the judge to dismiss the suit. "By filing this suit, [Conaway] is attempting to silence Mr. Meister during the period of her re-election campaign."

In March, Meister,on his blog for Examiner.com, reported that Conaway had designated a home in Randallstown as her principal residence and linked to public real estate records to back his case. "

7   Done!   2011 Jun 26, 4:24am  

She's a Democrat go figure.

"She was also elected as a John Edwards Delegate at the 2004 Democratic National Convention."

That was the election where I was told I was throwing my Vote away if Voted independent. You know Democrats just can't STAND the Democratic process. Free speech, and freedom of Choice and all that.

"Councilwoman Conaway is married and has two children who attend local schools."

The Parasite sends her kids to school on your dime as well. Classy Fascist Dictator this one.

8   elliemae   2011 Jun 26, 4:43am  

Tenouncetrout says

She’s a Democrat go figure.

What's a Democrat go figure? New party?

LetThemEatIpods says

Lastly, Adam is a person of high integrity and your other commentor was right…he would not intentionally publish material or information that was not factual.

I don't think this is about whether or not it was factual - it's a move by a politician to shut up a critic. She is hoping that the blogger will go broke and go away. Hopefully he'll be able to defend himself - and hopefully she'll lose her "career."

10   Done!   2011 Aug 2, 2:13pm  

Baltimore says

HE WON!

I think this was a moratorium on over reaching Democrats.
This means the Obama will lose in 2012.
It could also mean 711 big bites are made from lemming meat, but the jury is still out on that one.

11   elliemae   2011 Aug 2, 2:19pm  

Tenouncetrout says

I think this was a moratorium on over reaching Democrats.

give it up, bass. everything is political with you. Can't the guy enjoy his moment?

hopefully the bitch'll be voted out of office - regardless of what party wins. sleezy is sleezy.

12   Done!   2011 Aug 2, 10:56pm  

elliemae says

give it up, bass. everything is political with you.

Hey Big Bites are cheap and delicious.

13   zzyzzx   2011 Aug 3, 12:49am  

Meister was represented by C. Alex Hortis and Christopher Mellott, both of Venable LLC. Meister indicated that the lawyers represented him pro bono, but he noted that he still had to pay court costs and spend a lot of time on the matter. He declined to say how much the court costs amounted to.
“I'm a pretty frugal guy,” he said. “A penny spent on defending myself against something so bogus is too much.”

Sounds like something he would say!!!

14   Baltimore   2011 Nov 21, 7:43pm  

The political family that sued is at it again! Apparently the father who is Clerk of the Circuit court of Baltimore at the very least had a gun when he argued with on the sidewalk yesterday! From the Baltimore Sun:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-conaway-meister-altercation-20111121,0,5075704.story

"Police said Conaway "brandished a firearm" during the altercation. Conaway, who has been the clerk of court since 1998 and lost a bid for mayor this year, denied that he displayed a gun but declined to say whether he was carrying one at the time. He did say that he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon; state police said Monday afternoon they could not verify that information."

Meister's side of the story here:

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/29828056/detail.html

15   elliemae   2011 Nov 21, 10:41pm  

sounds like fun things are happening in balty!

16   zzyzzx   2011 Nov 21, 10:45pm  

I saw them on both on the local TV news, and I really don't think Adam is the type to go knocking on doors like that,

18   FortWayne   2011 Nov 22, 12:54am  

That chick should have been slammed with frivolous lawsuit and possibly extortion gag attempt.

19   Baltimore   2011 Nov 22, 1:06am  

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/11/state_police_conaways_gun_perm.html

State police say Clerk of Courts Frank Conaway Sr.'s permit to carry a concealed handgun expired in March, raising the possibility that he could face criminal charges after Monday's altercation with a blogger.

20   zzyzzx   2011 Nov 23, 10:44am  

Baltimore says

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/11/state_police_conaways_gun_perm.html

State police say Clerk of Courts Frank Conaway Sr.'s permit to carry a concealed handgun expired in March, raising the possibility that he could face criminal charges after Monday's altercation with a blogger.

I'll be surprised if anything ever comes of this.

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