Washington County Circuit Court reached an out-of-court settlement that restricts the animal rights activists from protesting near the homes of Skanska executives.
The 10-page agreement defines a “Buffer Zone” and “No Contact Zone” as well as specific acts not allowed in areas that include the Beaverton home of David Schmidt and the Sherwood home of Tim Baugus. Those acts include projecting images onto the homes, writing chalk messages, using sound amplification or making noise above normal conversational volume.
The agreement was reached after about a day and a half of testimony on two cases before Judge Janelle Factora Wipper: A lawsuit filed in January by the Skanska executives, their wives and two neighbors against No New Animal Lab and five people identified as group leaders; and a counterclaim filed on behalf of the protesters that sought a ruling that would have allowed continued residential picketing.
The legal action stemmed from No New Animal Lab protests that began about this time last year at the Beaverton home of David Schmidt, a Skanska USA executive, and his wife Gretchen. Protesters targeted Schmidt because Skanska is the contractor building an underground animal-research lab at the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Schmidt, in his role as co-chief operating officer, signed the November 2014 contract with UW for construction of the building.
(READ MORE: Oregon Live)
