<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><header id="story-header" class="story-header" style="display: block; position: relative; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 18px; "><div class="story-meta" style="margin-bottom: 20px; "><h3 class="kicker" style="font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 1rem; font-weight: 300; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.075em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span class="kicker-label" style="font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1rem; font-weight: 700; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.05em; "><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/index.html" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">U.S.</a></span></h3><h1 itemprop="headline" class="story-heading" style="font-size: 2.125rem; line-height: 2.375rem; font-weight: 700; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Highest Court to Weigh in on a Dispute Over Water</h1><div class="story-meta-footer" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); padding-top: 2px; "><p class="byline-dateline" style="margin-top: 4px; margin-right: 45px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; float: left; "><span class="byline" itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 0.75rem; font-weight: 700; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; ">By <span class="byline-author" data-byline-name="JIM MALEWITZ" itemprop="name">JIM MALEWITZ</span></span><time class="dateline" datetime="2014-09-04" style="font-size: 0.6875rem; line-height: 0.75rem; font-weight: 300; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-left: 12px; ">SEPT. 4, 2014</time></p><div class="inside-story" style="float: right; height: 36px; "><ul class="inside-story-menu" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding-left: 0px; "></ul></div></div></div></header><div class="lede-container" style="float: none; clear: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 18px; "><div class="lede-container-ads" style="float: right; clear: right; "><div id="XXL" class="ad xxl-ad marginalia-anchor-ad nocontent robots-nocontent" style="float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-left: 27px; "><a class="visually-hidden skip-to-text-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/us/highest-court-to-weigh-in-on-a-dispute-over-water.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0#story-continues-1" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: -1px; margin-bottom: -1px; margin-left: -1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">Continue reading the main story</a></div><div id="MiddleRight" class="ad middle-right-ad marginalia-anchor-ad nocontent robots-nocontent" style="float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 40px; margin-left: 7px; position: relative; min-width: 300px; min-height: 250px; "><a class="visually-hidden skip-to-text-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/us/highest-court-to-weigh-in-on-a-dispute-over-water.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0#story-continues-1" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: -1px; margin-bottom: -1px; margin-left: -1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">Continue reading the main story</a></div></div></div><div id="sharetools-story" aria-label="tools" role="group" class="sharetools theme-classic sharetools-story " data-shares="email|email,facebook,twitter,save,show-all|more,ad" data-url="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/us/highest-court-to-weigh-in-on-a-dispute-over-water.html" data-title="Highest Court to Weigh in on a Dispute Over Water" data-description="A tainted water well features in a free-speech dispute that has landed in Texas’s highest court — the biggest test of a law meant to curb attempts to stifle public protest." data-publish-date="September 4, 2014" style="width: 91px; float: left; clear: left; margin-bottom: 15px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 18px; "><a class="visually-hidden skip-to-text-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/us/highest-court-to-weigh-in-on-a-dispute-over-water.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0#story-continues-1" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: -1px; margin-bottom: -1px; margin-left: -1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">Continue reading the main story</a><span class="sharetools-label visually-hidden" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: -1px; margin-bottom: -1px; margin-left: -1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px; ">Share This Page</span></div><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="295" data-total-count="295" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-1" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">AUSTIN — Steve Lipsky’s tainted water well has already<a title="Texas Tribune article." href="http://www.texastribune.org/2014/06/20/questions-linger-about-parker-countys-tainted-wate/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); "> stirred a national debate </a>about the impacts of <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/oil-petroleum-and-gasoline/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about oil." class="meta-classifier" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">oil</a> and gas production. Now it stars in a free-speech dispute that has landed in the state’s highest court — the biggest test of a law meant to curb attempts to stifle public protest.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="333" data-total-count="628" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">So much methane has migrated into the well on Mr. Lipsky’s Parker County estate that he can ignite the stream that flows from it. Mr. Lipsky blames the phenomenon on nearby gas drilling in the Barnett Shale. In the past three years, he has shared those suspicions in <a title="YouTube video." href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfi22e8UQYc" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">YouTube videos,</a> the film “Gasland Part II” and news reports.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="459" data-total-count="1087" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A local drilling company, Range Resources, has maintained that it was not to blame for the contamination. In 2011, the company filed a lawsuit against Mr. Lipsky; his wife, Shyla Lipsky; and Alisa Rich, a toxicologist the couple hired to test their well. The $3 million suit accuses the three of conspiring to “defame and disparage” Range Resources and force federal regulators to intervene. Range representatives did not respond to requests for comment.</p><figure id="texas-promo-texas-tribune" class="interactive interactive-embedded has-adjacency has-lede-adjacency limit-xsmall layout-xsmall" style="display: block; margin-top: 15px; margin-right: 30px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 135px; position: relative; width: 180px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 15px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(226, 226, 226); float: left; min-width: 180px; clear: left; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 18px; "><a class="visually-hidden skip-to-text-link" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/us/highest-court-to-weigh-in-on-a-dispute-over-water.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0#story-continues-3" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; clip: rect(0px 0px 0px 0px); height: 1px; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: -1px; margin-bottom: -1px; margin-left: -1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; position: absolute; width: 1px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">Continue reading the main story</a><figcaption class="interactive-caption" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 1rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><p class="interactive-leadin" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.125rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><img class="nytd-texas-tribune-promo-logo" id="20f90b24-82e2-4614-8429-84ef44df73ac" height="90" width="180" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%; " src="cid:9EF07BD1-7D4E-49F7-B336-50E8AD0FC606">Expanded coverage of Texas is produced by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit news organization. To join the conversation about this article, go to<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/" style="color: rgb(50, 104, 145); text-decoration: none; ">texastribune.org</a>.</p></figcaption><div class="interactive-graphic" style="margin-bottom: 10px; "></div><div class="footer"></div></figure><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="329" data-total-count="1416" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency accused Range of tainting the well and ordered the company to provide drinking water to Mr. Lipsky and a neighbor. But the agency withdrew that order after<a title="Texas Tribune article." href="http://www.texastribune.org/2012/03/30/epa-withdraws-order-against-range-resources/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); "> Texas regulators said </a>Range was not linked to the contamination. Independent scientists are still studying Mr. Lipsky’s well.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="381" data-total-count="1797" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Lawyers for the Lipskys and Ms. Rich have asked courts to dismiss the <a title="Texas Tribune article." href="http://www.texastribune.org/2012/06/18/defamation-suit-tests-texas-anti-slapp-statute-/" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">suit</a>, pointing to a 2011 tort reform law intended to protect free speech. The law opens the door for the early dismissal of meritless legal claims filed to intimidate critics — so-called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or Slapps, that seek to quiet opponents by drowning them in legal fees.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="225" data-total-count="2022" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">“It’s them trying to intimidate other people, meaning, ‘How dare you ever accuse us of something like this?’ ” Mr. Lipsky, who pays $1,000 a month to truck in water from nearby Weatherford, said of Range Resources.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="504" data-total-count="2526" itemprop="articleBody" id="story-continues-5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">After a lower court allowed Range’s lawsuit to proceed, the Second District Court of Appeals in Fort Worth <a title="Case report." href="http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1628741.html" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">ordered that court</a> to set aside all charges except the defamation and disparagement allegations against Steve Lipsky. The court said Range provided no clear evidence that the others had conspired with him. Now, the Texas Supreme Court will weigh in, with <a title="Court website." href="http://www.search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=13-0928" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">oral arguments</a> scheduled for Dec. 4. First Amendment lawyers, who say lower courts have inconsistently applied the law, will watch closely.</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="262" data-total-count="2788" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">“It’ll be nice if the Texas Supreme Court could provide us with a nice, clear interpretation of that evidentiary standard,” said Alicia Calzada, an associate at the law firm Haynes and Boone. (Haynes and Boone is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune.)</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="195" data-total-count="2983" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><a title="Court documents." href="http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=8575e012-8876-4480-961a-83258619c5d8&coa=cossup&DT=BRIEFS&MediaID=ec356c62-5109-46a8-9ecb-b37bec5901f4" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(50, 104, 145); ">In court documents</a>, Range Resources argues that the “case is important because it illustrates that dangerous and chilling effect” of the 2011 law when it is “misconstrued or misapplied.”</p><p class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="270" data-total-count="3253" itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 135px; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.4375rem; font-weight: 400; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; width: 540px; max-width: 540px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Joe Sibley, a lawyer for the Lipskys, said the only chilling effect came from Range’s actions. “That’s exactly what the First Amendment is for — it’s to allow people to express those ideas,” he said. “This is probably the poster child for what Slapp is.”</p><footer class="story-footer story-content" style="display: block; margin-left: 135px; width: 540px; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 45px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 18px; "><div class="story-meta"><div class="story-notes"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.125rem; font-weight: 500; font-family: nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; "><a href="mailto:jmalewitz@texastribune.org">jmalewitz@texastribune.org</a></p></div></div></footer></div></body></html>