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UK Against Fluoridation

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

USA - Chancellor dismisses fluoride suit

Chancellor dismisses fluoride suit
By Joel Davis
of The Daily Times Staff
Chancellor Telford E. Forgety Jr. on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to force South Blount County Utility District to stop fluoridating its water supply and to provide documentation showing fluoride in water is safe to drink.
The utility's Board of Directors voted Jan. 2 to begin fluoridation at the request of Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham. Fluoridation ultimately began in May.
Linda King, of Citizens for Blount County's Future, filed the lawsuit in Blount County Chancery Court shortly afterward.
In stating his reasoning for the dismissal, Forgety said the plaintiffs did not show that any specific law or regulation had been violated by the board. Forgety said it is a long-standing principle in Tennessee that the courts do not interfere in decisions that public officials have the discretion to make.
"The courts will not interfere in the exercise of a public official's discretion," he said. "His decision may be right, may be wrong, but the court cannot operate South Blount Utility District, the court cannot operate Blount County, the court cannot operate Blount County Schools. ... The court cannot come along behind boards and commissions to second guess their decisions."
During the hearing, Thomas Mabry, King's attorney, withdrew a request to collect damages from the utility, when it became clear that if the lawsuit sought damages, as originally written, it would fall under auspices of The Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act. Forgety said that such claims have to be filed in circuit court.
Weldon Patterson, the attorney for the district, said Tennessee Code Annotated 29-20-201 grants the board immunity from litigation arising from the discharge of their duties.
'Up to the voters'
King has maintained that Cunningham, who appoints the directors of the utility district, unduly pressured the board members to vote for fluoridation. In his comments, Forgety said that, even accepting the allegations as true, it made no difference to the court.
"So what?" he said. "... Some decisions are just political in nature. The voters can either accept the positions or reject them. It's up to the voters."
King said she would discuss her options with Mabry concerning whether to appeal.
"What I get out of the system today is that Mayor Cunningham has rights, the Board of Commissioners of South Blount County Utility District have rights and the citizens have none," King said. "It [fluoride] is a drug, it's a toxic waste chemical and they are forcing us to ingest it."
District Manager Henry Durant said the district can now concentrate on operating in today's challenging economic conditions.
"We're just pleased with the outcome and hope things just go forward from here," he said. "We will not have to worry about that now. We were fairly confident what the outcome would be, but you never know until you get to court."

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