To the editor:

Twenty-five beachfront property owners claim the right to exclude the general public from Goose Rocks Beach. They named as defendants the town of Kennebunkport and “all persons who are unascertained…who claim the right to use” the beach, thus everyone is a potential defendant.

In his letter to the editor (Lawsuit will waste money,” March 5, page 11), Bill Case presents himself as the voice of reason, suggesting litigation costs have to be considered in light of the proposed cuts to the school budget. They are separate issues, but related when you think outside the box.

Is Case biased in any way regarding the litigation? He acknowledges that he was a plaintiff in the Moody Beach litigation. The Maine Supreme Court in that 1989 lawsuit ruled beachfront property owners could exclude the public from the beach in front of their properties. Recreation, according to the court, was not a right retained by the public.

There are reasons to believe that decision can be reversed. In the Moody Beach litigation, Case championed the cause of the beachfront property owners. Even a quick reading of his current letter puts him in the same place regarding the Goose Rocks litigation. That is not a neutral voice of reason.

He suggests the town recognize private ownership and then rely on good will to permit public use for recreation. Probably, most of those plaintiffs have no intention of excluding the public from the beach; they merely want the town to address some issues of use. However, the spokesmen for the plaintiffs have articulated demands the town can never accept. They say if the town accedes to their demands then the beachfront property owners “might” permit the public to “walk” on the beach.

These spokesmen are seeking dominion over the beach and the right to arbitrarily decide if the public can use it. The issue is too important to defer to the whims of a few people who wish to establish a beachfront aristocracy.

Case does not aim his argument at the plaintiffs but at the town and other defendants and challenges them to capitulate in the name of fiscal responsibility. If he believes it is irresponsible in today’s economy to spend money on Goose Rocks litigation, then he needs to tell the plaintiffs to drop their divisive litigation

Richard Driver

Kennebunkport