Another Setback for Logging Company's $A6.9 Million SLAPP

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Victorian Supreme Court judge Justice Bernard Bongiorno has struck out the third statement of claim in a SLAPP suit by the Australian logging company Gunns. In December 2004, Gunns initiated the legal action against 20 environmentalists and environmental groups, over their campaign against the logging of old-growth and wilderness forests. Bongiorno has set a deadline of October 19, if the company wants to file another claim. The chairman of Gunns, John Gay, told ABC radio that "we will never take ... anyone to court that is purely a pure demonstrator or has a different view of the company." One person being sued by Gunns is a doctor who raised concerns about the health impacts of a woodchip pile. Gunns is also suing Australian Greens Senator Dr. Bob Brown, who will be accepting an award from the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco on October 19.