A Butler County judge has dismissed the second lawsuit a developer and 13 landowners had filed against Middlesex residents and non-profits opposed to fracking, the defendants. Dewey Homes & Investment Properties and other property owners, who collectively hold more than 440 acres of land, originally filed the lawsuit last May against five residents, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the Clean Air Council. Dewey and the landowners said the defendants were interfering with their rights to drill by challenging the township's zoning ordinances, which allow gas drilling in 90 percent of the township. The ACLU called the lawsuit a case of “SLAPP,” or strategic lawsuit against public participation, intended to quash the residents' right to petition their government.
Butler County Common Pleas Judge Marilyn Horan dismissed the lawsuit in September but allowed the plaintiffs to amend it. Last Wednesday Judge Michael Yeager dismissed the amended case with prejudice, meaning it can't be re-filed with the Court of Common Pleas.