A ruling that allows more Acme Township officials to sue Meijer Inc. for alleged harassment and intimidation may help finally reveal just how high in the Meijer organization the decision to make war on Acme really went.
So far, thanks mostly to Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land's intervention, the worst Meijer has faced for manipulating two township elections has been a $190,000 fine and criticism from people who foolishly (from Land's perspective, apparently) still think the law must be applied to even multi-billion dollar companies.
The fine, of course, meant nothing and neither has the criticism. A host of new lawsuits may change things.
Seven Acme officials in November agreed to release Meijer from future lawsuits in return for Meijer dropping so-called SLAPP suits it had filed against them in connection to Meijer efforts to build a superstore in Acme. The group included planning commissioner Robert Carstens.
The suits -- the acronym stands for Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation -- had been filed against the seven as individuals, which meant their homes and all they owned were in jeopardy. The aim of such suits is to force officials to bend to the will of the company doing the suing.
But what Carstens and the others didn't know when they struck the no-sue deal -- and lifted the SLAPP suits off their backs -- was that Meijer had illegally spent more than $100,000 to influence township elections in 2005 and 2007, and that Meijer officials, a Meijer attorney and local residents lied in court depositions to hide Meijer's role.
Carstens' attorney, Michael Dettmer, said Meijer used fraudulent means to obtain the lawsuit waivers from the Acme officials. Thirteenth Circuit Judge Philip Rodgers agreed to the waivers.
Now, Dettmer has said a Carstens lawsuit may involve seeking depositions from top Meijer officials, including company Co-Chairman Hank Meijer, President Mark Murray and a vice president, Stacie Behler.
All this is against the backdrop of a lawsuit filed against Meijer by former Acme treasurer Bill Boltres, who had also been the target of a Meijer SLAPP suit. He counter-sued, and it was during depositions in his suit that the story of how Meijer orchestrated a failed 2007 recall election against the entire Acme board first came out.
Boltres settled with Meijer after an arbitrator recommended a $3 million payoff.
Now, it appears Meijer may have to go through the whole thing all over -- possibly again and again. This time, however, Carstens and his attorney have a road map, one that could possibly lead all the way to the top.
New revelations could also set the stage for an array of criminal charges against Meijer officials and/or its attorneys, its public relations firm and local citizens who aligned themselves with the big-box and recall efforts.
What Acme residents must demand this time around is a full and final accounting of who at Meijer decided it was time to intimidate instead of negotiate, who decided to knowingly break the law, who decided to essentially try to overthrow an elected local government. Who put profit ahead of the law?
That person -- or those persons -- must be held accountable.
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