Suit in St. Louis Circuit Court against Fred Weber Inc. settles

After Fred Weber Inc. slapped trash-transfer opponent Thomas Diehl with a defamation lawsuit for referring to the company as "trash terrorists," the South County man struck back with a lawsuit of his own for malicious prosecution.

On Monday the two parties settled their differences after six years of litigation that went up to the Missouri Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The confidential settlement came on what was to have been the first day of trial after the lawsuit was bounced back to St. Louis Circuit Court.

After the appellate court reinstated the Diehls' lawsuit, their lawyer, Michael Quinlan, said, "My clients have always been very, very concerned to make sure that the truth be told."

 "The court said we think the evidence would support ... that this whole thing was an intimidation ploy," Quinlan, of the Quinlan Law Firm in St. Louis, said at the time.

Quinlan and co-counsel John G. Simon, of the Simon Law Firm, declined to comment this week, citing the confidential nature of the settlement. Defense attorney Winthrop B. Reed III, of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, also declined to comment.
Fred Weber filed a lawsuit against Diehl after Diehl handed out fliers at a December 2003 public hearing urging Oakville residents to contact county officials to oppose the trash-transfer station. The flier, written in all capital letters, was titled "STOP FRED WEBER INC." and subtitled "THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO FIGHT THE TRASH TERRORISTS."

It told area residents to write to their county officials, consider using trash firms that don't use Fred Weber's landfill and contribute money to the fight against the trash-transfer station.