Judge: ‘Cyber stalking’ evidenced in Tahoe bear case

A legal battle between bear advocates and a Lake Tahoe couple who says they were threatened and intimidated after reporting a problem bear to authorities will continue after a judge said evidence suggests “cyber-stalking” occurred.

Richard and Adrienne Evans failed to prove the Bear League intentionally interfered with the relationship between Adrienne and her professional mountain bike racing sponsors and that claim in the couple’s lawsuit is dismissed, Washoe District Judge Lidia Stiglich ruled May 27.

But the judge declined to dismiss two other claims in the Evans’ complaint as requested by the Bear League, including that the nonprofit organization engaged in civil conspiracy and attempted to defame the couple in an impassioned dispute over Nevada’s bear management practices.

“...The court finds that clear and convincing evidence exists to support the Evans’ claims that the Bear League conspired with its followers to accomplish the unlawful objective of cyber-stalking/cyber harassment, causing harm to the (Evanses),” Stiglich wrote.

Katherine Parks, attorney for the Bear League and its founder and executive director Ann Bryant, declined to comment Tuesday.

The dispute stems from a Dec. 18, 2013 incident in Incline Village when the husband and wife reported a black bear that had broken into their vehicle to the Nevada Department of Wildlife, which later trapped and killed the animal as a threat to public safety.

In a lawsuit filed Dec. 8, 2014, the couple claimed their call to wildlife officials sparked a campaign by the Bear League to “threaten, harass and intimidate” them. The complaint alleges the couple was subjected to a series of threatening e-mails, text messages and Facebook messages, “including death threats.”

In a Feb. 9 motion filed by the Bear League, attorneys argued for dismissal because many comments made to the couple were from people not associated with the organization. Comments that were made by Bryant and league members are protected as free speech under Nevada law, they said.

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