I wish a news organization would do a story on how much these clowns have collected in legal fees from the various governments that they have sued.  I imagine the number would be substantial and a real eye opener to the general public.

I like the one comment calling BOAST "City Outsiders Aggressively Stealing Taxes"

I think Seelbach might be CO  's new Schmidt.

Can't beat him - better ruin him.

 

 

I think this is correct. They are often going after him on twitter. Finney is notoriously anti-gay.

EXCLUSIVE: City must pay COAST lawyers $511K

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130906/NEWS010801/309060162/EXCLUSIVE-City-must-pay-COAST-lawyers-511K?nclick_check=1

 

---

 

COAST is taking a lot of flak even in the Enquirer comments.  I think this is a good article (despite the Enquirers best efforts to make the city look bad) as it really outs COAST for what it is - a small group of people lining their own pockets under the guise of a tea party group.

 

Disgusting.

'Disgusting' doesn't even begin to describe it.

yeesh, CO    endorses Berns & in their preprimary 'Action Alert' all they can muster is "don't vote for Qualls".

Berns even praised them on the Dan Hurley show Sunday.

FWIW, the Hurley show might be up sometime Tuesday. It features Berns, Cranley, Noble & Smith. Smith has great hair but that's about it. I gotta give Cranley credit for sitting next to Noble. That took some balls.

Qualls was busy.

"The name of the high-profile anti-tax group is now available through the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. The Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes name was registered in 2006 by COAST official Mark Miller. However, the registration was cancelled in 2011 after Miller failed to renew."

 

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2013/09/10/coast-name-available-from-secretary-of-state/

So if someone registers the name, and COAST continues to use it, could you sue them for falsely representing another organization?

Say, a soap manufacturer.

I think you'd have to register "Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes".

Since that's not what those guys are about maybe they thought renewing the name was inappropriate.

It would be wise for someone to register both. Seriously.

^If you guys are planning to do anything, I'd recommend moving that discussion to PMs, since I'm certain COAST lurks on this board.

Not only that, they have an account.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130912/BIZ01/309120029/Ohio-Pure-Romance-tax-credits-not-wise-

 

again an unnecessary quote from coast in the article... "when will the welfare state end?" ...

 

ironic as taxpayers are paying for member's of the organizations mortgage, vacations, groceries...

 

 

makes me sick knowing part of my paycheck is going into the pockets of those clowns.

COAST Chairman Tom Brinkman's latest LTE:

 

COAST money only goes to costs of litigation

 

While The Enquirer is correct in reporting that all funds from COAST’s many legal and electoral victories go exclusively to legal and filing fees, there remains some confusion about the litigation process and recent cases. Neither I nor the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) have personally gained from these cases. Let’s make it clear, all awards and settlements are used to defray the cost of litigation, nothing else.

 

Cont

and just how padded are those fees?

I figure at this level nuisance lawsuits are worth $2000 and hour at the very least...

DO    claims 2,000 hours on city hall lobby case

riiiiight....

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131004/NEWS/310040047/Anti-tax-crusaders-reap-big-payday-taking-govt-court

DO    claims 2,000 hours on city hall lobby case

riiiiight....

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131004/NEWS/310040047/Anti-tax-crusaders-reap-big-payday-taking-govt-court

 

Even COAST political foe Tim Burke, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, says Finney “can be a brilliant lawyer.”

 

Often times, at least in my eyes, this is an insult. A brilliant lawyer is one who is petty, kind of a dick, and believes in the letter of the law rather than the spirit. They’re the type that lawyer jokes and hatred are spawned from.

 

Also, how fitting is it that the COAST case to permit politicians to lie in campaigns would be the one to reach the Supreme Court?  Seems to be the basis of most of their campaigns.

Also, how fitting is it that the COAST case to permit politicians to lie in campaigns would be the one to reach the Supreme Court?  Seems to be the basis of most of their campaigns.

 

Right? The quote about that law preventing them from getting their message out is quite telling. And Finney calls it the most important case of his career. Their priorities are clear: to misinform the public to ram through their ideology which cannot win in an honest debate, and to milk the tax payers for as much as possible while doing so.

Tuesday, October 15th, 2013

Cincinnati Tea Party Fails in Campaign to Intimidate the Urbanist Press With Fraud Allegations

 

It’s not easy being an urbanist blogger in America. For the most part you don’t make any money, but you do accumulate lots of people who don’t like you. Randy Simes, publisher of Urban Cincy, has been a thorn in the side of the local Tea Party for some time. Having suffered a string of defeats trying to derail projects they don’t like, notably the streetcar, both in city elections and in multiple referendums, the Tea Party in the form of Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) apparently decided that if the couldn’t get what they wanted through democracy, they’d try silencing their critics by filing a vote fraud complaint against streetcar supporter Simes. Fortunately, a bi-partisan majority of the Hamilton County Board of Elections, rejected the allegations.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.urbanophile.com/2013/10/15/cincinnati-tea-party-fails-in-campaign-to-intimidate-the-urbanist-press-with-fraud-allegations/

Friend just told me she had no idea Finney was a Tease. She wondered if he had been kidnapped or something.

yes, another college graduate...

COAST is now apparently suing either the BoE, Randy Simes, or both. 

You can't start suing people for voting. That breaks democracy.

Breaking democracy is CO  's specialty.

Finney asks for tax breaks in Union TWP to start a new office.

Chris Finney, a high-profile lawyer who criticized a tax break for Pure Romance when the company sought a deal to move its office and scores of jobs from Clermont County to downtown Cincinnati, is seeking a tax break for himself and possibly other attorneys before he opens a law office in Clermont County.

“Is there no limit to the welfare state?” Finney was quoted by the Cincinnati Enquirer in September when asked whether the state of Ohio and the city of Cincinnati should grant tax breaks to Pure Romance...

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/11/26/coast-attorney-chris-finney-seeks-tax.html?page=all

In hilarious/ironic news.....

 

COAST attorney Chris Finney seeks tax break to open new law office: EXCLUSIVE

Barrett J. Brunsman Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Chris Finney, a high-profile lawyer who criticized a tax break for Pure Romance when the company sought a deal to move its office and scores of jobs from Clermont County to downtown Cincinnati, is seeking a tax break for himself and possibly other attorneys before he opens a law office in Clermont County.

 

The board of trustees in Clermont County’s Union Township is to vote Dec. 12 on Finney’s request that he get at least a 10 percent rebate for five years on the bulk of a 1 percent earnings tax the township would collect from him and other employees of his law office. The township expects Finney’s business to have up to 15 employees, which could generate at least $1 million annually in taxable revenue.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/11/26/coast-attorney-chris-finney-seeks-tax.html

Finney gets his welfare -er- tax break says it's different than other people's tax breaks, he's just doing what everybody else is doing.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131203/NEWS/311270150/COAST-activist-Finney-qualifies-tax-break-new-office

Finney gets his welfare -er- tax break says it's different than other people's tax breaks, he's just doing what everybody else is doing.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131203/NEWS/311270150/COAST-activist-Finney-qualifies-tax-break-new-office

 

That isn't a tax break. There used to not even be a tax and the JEDD created a special tax, on earnings, to fund infrastructure improvements.

If his firm stays at that location for the term of the lease they can get rebated back 10% of what they paid.

If he hung his shingle elsewhere in Union or Anderson TWP there is no earnings tax.

This is too good to be true!  Whatever iota of credibility COAST/Finney had to begin with is sooooooo gone!

 

COAST's Chris Finney apologizes for denying he sought tax credit

Barrett J. Brunsman Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Chris Finney, the high-profile lawyer who is critical of tax breaks for companies in Greater Cincinnati, has apologized for denying in news reports that he sought a tax break for his own business.

 

"I did … request that the township grant me that credit, and I presently do intend to accept it if offered," Finney wrote in a Dec. 5 email whose recipients included the law director of Clermont County’s Union Township. "I am sorry for saying otherwise."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/12/05/coasts-chris-finney-apologizes-for.html

He had no credibility to lose with anyone with a brain. So it really changes nothing.

 

A CO    member being exposed as a liar and hypocrite looking to leech off gov't handouts is par for the course.

COAST's Chris Finney granted tax break to open law firm

Barrett J. Brunsman Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier  

 

 

Chris Finney, the high-profile lawyer who has been an outspoken critic of tax breaks for Cincinnati businesses, has been granted one as an incentive to open his own law firm in Clermont County on Jan. 1.

 

Finney didn’t attend the Dec. 12 meeting of the Union Township Community Improvement Corp., whose members split over whether to approve his request for a 10 percent rebate on the bulk of a 1 percent earnings tax to be paid by the employees of Finney Law Firm LLC.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/12/13/coasts-chris-finney-granted-tax-break.html

I can't tell if Chris Finney is simply a huge hypocrite, or really only out for personal gain.  He either believes the crap that comes out of his mouth, or just found a niche (suing the City of Cincinnati) that is profitable for him.

It's all in a day's BS.

^^ Hard to tell, but they both have the same logical implication: the man is despicable.

more on this

 

“Mr. Finney is probably the most well-recognized opponent of any type of economic development effort” in Greater Cincinnati, Donnellon said. “When somebody comes to me with an economic development request, it has to make sense to me. (On this one), I couldn’t figure it out.

 

“If he’s not directly affiliated with the Clermont Liberty PAC, he is at least like-minded,” Donnellon said of Finney. “And the majority of voters in this past election in our township voted overwhelmingly for (tea party) candidates. The single issue they campaigned on was opposition to economic development.”

 

Donnellon and McGee, both supporters of job creation through economic development incentives, lost their bids for re-election on Nov. 5 to Lloyd Acres and John McGraw. Acres and McGraw were endorsed by the Liberty PAC, which stated in an October newsletter that it opposes tax-payer funded economic development initiatives.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/12/16/trustee-concerned-about-tax-break-for.html

Law firm rebrands upon departure of COAST's Chris Finney

Barrett J. Brunsman Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Chris Finney, the high-profile lawyer who tried to derail the Cincinnati streetcar project, has officially departed from the Hyde Park-based law firm that bore his name after what appears to be a falling out with business partners over his political activism.

 

Several of his six former law partners announced Jan. 2 that the firm formerly known as Finney, Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson Co. will "return to its original mission to represent individuals and businesses in core areas of general business and corporate law, real estate law, estate planning and probate, and commercial and general litigation."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2014/01/law-firm-rebrands-upon-departure-of.html

I bet he was costing them business. He certainly embarrassed them. I bet that's why Slitherman left his NAACP position as well.

Law firm rebrands upon departure of COAST's Chris Finney

Barrett J. Brunsman Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Chris Finney, the high-profile lawyer who tried to derail the Cincinnati streetcar project, has officially departed from the Hyde Park-based law firm that bore his name after what appears to be a falling out with business partners over his political activism.

 

Several of his six former law partners announced Jan. 2 that the firm formerly known as Finney, Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson Co. will "return to its original mission to represent individuals and businesses in core areas of general business and corporate law, real estate law, estate planning and probate, and commercial and general litigation."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2014/01/law-firm-rebrands-upon-departure-of.html

 

Ha Ha...oops...buh-bye, Mr. Finney.  :roll:

I bet he was costing them business. He certainly embarrassed them. I bet that's why Slitherman left his NAACP position as well.

 

Thank god these a$$holes are finally seeing real-world consequences of their a$$holery. I'm way over-tired of them a$$holing around with impunity.

Top court to hear Cincinnati speech case

 

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a case challenging an Ohio law that bars candidates and issue groups from lying in their campaigns.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20140110/NEWS010801/301100117/Top-court-hear-Cincinnati-speech-case

If you have to go to the supreme court to determine whether you have the right to lie, you just absolutely suck at life. While I guess the freedom of speech question is valid, it's amazing that an organization could be the plaintiff in such a case and still have people out there who think they have any credibility.

I feel like intentionally misleading people in a political campaign is akin to yelling "fire" in a theater, in terms of abusing speech.

 

Either way, it's an interesting question: Which is more fundamental, the right to say what you want or the need for a fair democracy? Both really cut to the core of our society.

In news clips I just spotted Jeff Cappell sitting in the crowd at a county commissioners meeting regarding Tracy Hunter.  Get a life, dude. 

COAST lawyers are preparing to sue WDBZ "The Buzz" and Radio One (the owner) on behalf of Chris Smitherman.

 

Smitherman and COAST allege that WDBZ was lying on air by saying that Smitherman was a member of the tea party. Interestingly enough, Smitherman is being represented by active tea party lawyers (not sure if they are card-carrying members of Tea Party, per se, but nonetheless they are members of the "Tea Party" for all intents and purposes).

 

Also interesting is the lawsuit that COAST is currently involved with in which COAST believes they have a right to lie in political campaigns under their first amendment rights. Don't they think this action could potentially hurt their chances of winning their suit to be permitted to lie in campaigns?

 

http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d8d3b4582a96d106114d7e4af&id=c16135457a

Is there actually a Tea Party one can join?

Is there actually a Tea Party one can join?

 

Since the "Tea Party" is loosely organized, it can't be easy to prove that someone is/isn't a member of it.

 

Also, in order to sue someone for slander, you must prove that (1) the statement was false, and (2) the statement was damaging to the person's reputation. So they are claiming that Smitherman's reputation has been damaged by these "false" claims that he belongs to the Tea Party. But if he hangs around with COAST and other Tea Party groups all the time, how damaging could it be?

 

I'll bet it gets tossed out.

^There's more to it under these circumstances.  Smitheren is a 'public official' for the purposes of defamation law and the statement at issue would involve an area of public concern.  As a plaintiff, he would have an extremely heightened burden to not just prove that the statemenet is false, but that it was knowingly false.  The plaintiff also needs to show some level of malice.  The law presumes that public figures - i.e. people who thrust themselves into the public spotlight - have thicker skin than the rest of us, as they should.

^There's more to it under these circumstances.  Smitheren is a 'public official' for the purposes of defamation law and the statement at issue would involve an area of public concern.  As a plaintiff, he would have an extremely heightened burden to not just prove that the statemenet is false, but that it was knowingly false.  The plaintiff also needs to show some level of malice.  The law presumes that public figures - i.e. people who thrust themselves into the public spotlight - have thicker skin than the rest of us, as they should.

 

Exactly, it's like a celebrity suing TMZ for saying something mean about them. The celebrity isn't going to win.

The celebrity could always punch the next photographer and break his camera out of anger, though.

Absolutely disgusting...

 

 

City pays COAST $675,000 to go away

 

The city has paid COAST attorneys $675,000 to settle a half-dozen pending lawsuits, The Enquirer has learned through a public records request.

 

The settlements were made in January, with the city admitting no wrongdoing, according to agreements between those involved in each case. The parties agreed to keep the deals confidential, but the city had to release them as public records. The money came from the city's "judgment fund" for potential litigation costs, Acting City Solicitor Terry Nestor said Friday.

 

"The city is disappointed that it had to pay this amount, and mostly in attorneys' fees, but very pleased that these cases are resolved and can be taken off the city's book of long-term liabilities," Nestor said.

 

The cases carried a combined risk of costing the city up to $1.5 million, he said.

 

Cont