Aurich Lawson | Playing cards In opposition to Humanity
Playing cards In opposition to Humanity sued SpaceX yesterday, alleging that Elon Musk’s agency illegally took over a plot of land on the US/Mexico border that the party-game firm purchased in 2017 in an try and stymie then-President Trump’s try and construct a wall.
“As a part of CAH’s 2017 vacation marketing campaign, whereas Donald Trump was President, CAH created a supporter-funded marketing campaign to take a stand towards the constructing of a Border Wall,” mentioned the lawsuit filed in Cameron County District Courtroom in Texas. Playing cards In opposition to Humanity says it acquired $15 donations from 150,000 folks and used a part of that cash to purchase “a plot of vacant land in Cameron County based mostly upon CAH’s promise to ‘make it as time-consuming and costly as doable for Trump to construct his wall.'”
Playing cards In opposition to Humanity says it mowed the land “and maintained it in its pure state, marking the sting of the lot with a fence and a ‘No Trespassing’ signal.” However as a substitute of Trump taking on the land, Playing cards In opposition to Humanity says the parcel was “interfered with and invaded” by Musk’s house firm. The lawsuit contains photos that, in accordance with Playing cards In opposition to Humanity, present the land when it was first bought and after SpaceX building gear and supplies had been positioned on the land.
This image was taken in 2017, in accordance with Playing cards In opposition to Humanity:
Playing cards In opposition to Humanity
Playing cards In opposition to Humanity says this image of SpaceX gear and supplies on the identical land was taken in 2024:
Playing cards In opposition to Humanity
The lawsuit seeks as much as $15 million to cowl “the price to revive and restore the Property, the diminution within the Property’s honest market worth, the cheap worth of SpaceX’s use of the Property, the lack of goodwill, damages to CAH’s repute, and different pecuniary loss and precise damages suffered by CAH.” The swimsuit additionally seeks punitive damages.
Lawsuit: SpaceX “by no means requested for permission”
The lawsuit mentioned that SpaceX “acquired most of the vacant tons alongside the street on which the Property is located,” and began utilizing the Playing cards In opposition to Humanity property as its personal:
SpaceX and/or its contractors entered the Property and, after erecting posts to mark the property line, proceeded to disregard any distinction based mostly upon property possession. The positioning was cleared of vegetation, and the soil was compacted with gravel or different substance to permit SpaceX and its contractors to run and park its autos all around the Property. Turbines had been introduced in to run gear and lights whereas work was being carried out earlier than and after daylight. An unlimited mound of gravel was unloaded onto the Property; the gravel is being saved and used for the development of buildings by SpaceX’s contractors alongside the street.
Massive items of building gear and quite a few construction-related autos are utilized and saved on the Property constantly. And, after all, staff are current performing building work and staging supplies and autos for work to be carried out on different tracts. Briefly, SpaceX has handled the Property as its personal for at the least six (6) months with out regard for CAH’s property rights nor the security of anybody getting into what has develop into a worksite that’s presumably ruled by OSHA security necessities.
The lawsuit mentioned that “SpaceX has by no means requested for permission to make use of the Property, a lot much less for the egregious appropriation of the Property for its personal profit-making functions,” and “by no means reached out to CAH to elucidate or apologize for the harm induced to the Property and CAH’s possession curiosity therein.”
We contacted SpaceX in regards to the lawsuit and can replace this text if it offers a response.
