Florida Pheonix by Julie Hauserman
July 17, 2018
Sheriff’s deputies seized a 2004 Toyota and two aging kayaks from well-known South Florida environmentalist Maggy Hurchalla yesterday, she says.
The seizures are the latest in a dramatic legal battle that pits the 77-year-old Hurchalla against a billionaire who filed suit against her after she opposed his South Florida rock mining operation. Hurchalla is the sister of the late U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
Hurchalla says she has been the victim of a SLAPP suit – which stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. She was sued by Lake Point Restoration, which is co-owned by billionaire George Lindemann, Jr. Hurchalla found herself on the losing end of a $4.4 million judgment in February, which she is appealing.
In an email, Hurchalla said a sheriff’s deputy approached her after she left a deposition related to her legal appeal and demanded her car keys.
“I told him that if he could let us drive home I could save him having to tow it and I could show him where two kayaks that Lake Point wished to seize were stored. The 14-year-old and 19-year-old kayaks are the only property I own except for the Toyota.
