|
JASON
G. LANDESS, ESQ.
7054
Big Springs Court,
Las Vegas
,
NV
. 89113
Tel:
(702) 232-3913 Fax: (702) 248-4122 Email: JIand702@cox.net
July 21, 2004
Richard
White
President,
Lakeside
Historical Society
9906 Maine Ave.
Lakeside,
California
92040
Re:
Chad
Enniss
Dear
Mr. White:
I
have represented the Enniss family for many years. Although I have
focused my practice in
Nevada
, I am also licensed to practice in
California
[he has not been licensed to practice law in CA since
1993]. My first two years in practice were in fact as a Deputy
District Attorney in
Orange
County
many years ago.
I
am very familiar with the Enniss family and all they have done for their
community over the many years. Their deeds of philanthropy and good will
would take volumes to fill. I have witnessed first hand the Enniss
family's kindness and generosity for family, friends, neighbors and
strangers rarely seen in today's world.
I
therefore was appalled to read your recent article entitled "Ennis
[sic] Threatens Society" wherein you liken Chad Enniss to a Nazi,
which is of course defamatory on its face. Spirited debate and
differences of opinion are part of the warp and woof of our society. I
am a strong believer in, and defender of, the First Amendment. But
casting a pall of disparagement over such upstanding people by comparing
them with the dictatorial regimes of Adolph Hitler and Mussolini because
you feel threatened in your miniscule domain of influence is beyond the
pale of acceptable editorial comment and common decency.
What
you fail to understand because of your obvious myopia is that
communities like
Lakeside
and other surrounding cities do not thrive or even become a reality
unless they have highways and byways for the people to commute upon.
Those communities also need to have antiquated and dangerous structures
destroyed to make room for new development. They also need high-rise
structures because of the skyrocketing price of land in those
communities and because of the efficiency that occurs when all of the
governmental services are located in one structure. They also need
bridges and waterways carefully designed so that people do not get hurt.
And if natural disasters occur such as the terrible fires your
surrounding communities recently experienced, it is not conducive to the
overall health and welfare of the community to leave all of the burned
out structures as they are after the fires. It is better if someone
demolishes those structures and recycles the materials gleaned from the
demolition.
These
construction capabilities are also valuable for preserving and
reinforcing the historic structures and facilities that your Society is
interested in preserving. The Enniss companies provide steel engineering
and fabrication for things old as well as things new. Who do you think
does those things in Lakeside and the
Moreno
Valley
and other surrounding cities? Have you failed to notice that the Enniss
family is substantially responsible for those valuable contributions to
your communities, two of which you use as examples of your Society's
accomplishments: The Boat House at Lindo Lake, and the use of the Enniss
cranes for the installation of the Boys and Girls Club at Lindo Park?
Are you aware of the fact that Mr. Reid Enniss was given a lifetime
membership in the Society as an expression of appreciation for the
contribution he and his family made to that project? And please give me
one example of a materials and a construction yard that does not have
sand, rocks, steel, cranes, trucks and other materials and equipment
necessary to run such a business. But you will not do that because you
cannot do that. That is why your article was both defamatory and
asinine.
Before
I begin to prepare a complaint for defamation against you and the
Lakeside Historical Society ("Society") for filing in San
Diego County Superior Court, whether by me or by an attorney who
specializes in such actions located there in San Diego, I want to extend
to you the courtesy of allowing you to immediately retract that
statement. I would expect such retraction to be published to the same
universe of readers who received the aforementioned offensive article.
In
addition, I respectfully suggest given the bellicose and incoherent
nature of your diatribe in that article that it is time for you to step
down from your position as President of the Society. I understand that
the Society serves a useful purpose in your community. It would be most
unfortunate if all of the good that has been done so far by the Society
is undermined by the irrational ravings of a "leader" who
clearly has a psychopathological condition characterized by delusional
fantasies of self-righteousness, power, or even omnipotence.
Finally,
the Enniss family will consider withdrawing. their litigious intentions
if you would not only resign, but take whatever steps are necessary to
have Julie Bugbee or Rob Harding (who I understand have expressed a
willingness to serve) appointed to the Design Review Board referenced in
your article. That way the community could be represented by a healthy
mixture of viewpoints regarding future commercial development in
Lakeside
.
Please
send me a copy of your retraction article. I will then forward it to the
Enniss family for their review.
Sincerely,
Jason
G. Landess, Esq.
Cc: Dianne Jacob, Supervisor, District 2
Chad
Enniss
Reid Enniss |
