The Public’s Radio — ACLU represents beach access advocate sued by Weekapaug Fire District
A Weekapaug Fire District sign at the beginning of the Quonochontaug Barrier Beach in Westerly. Credit: Alex Nunes/The Public’s Radio
Feb 15, 2024
By Alex Nunes — The Rhode Island ACLU says the fire district’s lawsuit is targeting a Westerly resident fighting for a public shoreline right-of-way in a move to discourage public participation in the dispute.
The Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union is defending a Westerly resident and beach access advocate being sued by the Weekapaug Fire District for advocating that the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council designate a public right-of-way to the Quonochontaug Barrier Beach.
The ACLU is working with former Rhode Island Assistant Attorney General Michael Rubin, who is also representing the defendant, Caroline Contrata, in proceedings before the CRMC over the contested right-of-way called Spring Avenue.
Rubin, who filed a court motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Wednesday, calls the legal action taken by the Weekapaug Fire District against Contrata a classic example of an illegal SLAPP lawsuit – a “strategic lawsuit against public participation” intended to deter people from exercising their freedom of speech.
The fire district, which says it owns Spring Avenue and has the right to block the public with a fence, did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent Thursday morning.
Shoreline access advocates have criticized the increasingly litigious fire district over the lawsuit filed in December, calling it retaliation. Around that time, the Weekapaug Fire District also sent deposition notices to people who donated to a GoFundMe campaign Contrata started to raise funds for her legal efforts before the CRMC.
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