Businessman sues for defamation

A Chesterfield businessman has sued seven county residents for $1.35 million in a defamation suit over their criticism of him involving a proposed sewer district along Route 10. Roger Habeck, owner and operator of Facilitation Services, LLC, which acts as an intermediary among businesses, citizens and county government, filed suit in Chesterfield Circuit Court on Aug. 27.

The Kingsland Road defendants are Sandee and David Cosby, G.B. and Sandra Spencer, and Diane Barber. Keith and Shannon Andrew of Bluespruce Drive are also defendants.

Habeck alleges he was defamed in part by a July 10 letter authored by the defendants to area residents. It claims Habeck was "paid by the developers," the county could arbitrarily rezone the property to commercial and that Habeck doesn't "give a rat's tail" about the affected residential property owners.

Habeck's attorney, Darren Hart of the firm Thomas Woodward Ashton, says the defendants showed "a reckless disregard for the truth…We are suing on the basis of defamation, which is a state law cause of action, and constitutional protections are involved in the pleadings." The defendants knew or should have known that they were making "false statements" about Habeck, the suit reads.