(This story is the latest update on the O’Grady family’s “81 on East Bay” development/Dr. Mark Leslie case. Leslie was arrested in 2019 for vandalizing the O’Grady’s house on Bluff Road, as well as their “81” development near the corner of Bluff Road and Boursaw Road. Leslie paid restitution and did 11 days in jail, among other things. Shortly thereafter, the O’Grady’s sued Leslie for a variety of issues, including stalking and emotional distress. The local court under Judge Thomas Power went in favor of Leslie, and the O’Grady’s appealed the case to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Read on for more details. -jb)
On Sept. 19, 2024, judges in the State of Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed that a lawsuit filed by the O’Grady family against Dr. Mark Leslie is a “frivolous action” of harassment. The court has ordered the O’Gradys to pay Dr. Leslie’s costs and attorney fees of some $390,000.
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The case stems from vandalism by Dr. Leslie on the O’Grady’s development, formerly “The 81 on East Bay,” now known as “Peninsula Shores,” near the corner of Boursaw Road and Bluff Road. Vandalism also took place at the O’Grady’s home near the south end of Bluff Road. We covered the story in 2019 here and here.
To recap, during the night of July 3, 2019, someone painted “Land Raper lives here” in letters that were about four feet tall and spanned 45 feet along the seawall in front of the O’Gradys’ home. On July 18, 2019, someone spray-painted “LAND RAPIST” on the road outside the O’Gradys’ home with an arrow pointing to their driveway.
On the night of Oct. 9, 2019, someone spray-painted the large limestone walls at the entrance to the 81 development site with the words “LAND RAPE.” Because cameras had been installed at the work site, police officers were able to determine that Dr. Leslie vandalized the walls, and he was arrested in November 2019.
In December 2019, Dr. Leslie pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal to one count of misdemeanor attempted malicious destruction of property and one count of misdemeanor stalking. As part of the plea, Dr. Leslie agreed that he entered onto the property near the O’Gradys’ home and spray painted words on an ornamental wall.
The trial court presiding over Dr. Leslie’s criminal case sentenced him in January 2020, ordering him to serve probation for one year, pay a fine of $100, pay court costs of $800 and $75, and to pay $7500 in restitution. The court also ordered him to perform ten days of community service, to be subject to random drug and alcohol screening, to have no contact with the O’Gradys or be anywhere near their properties, and to serve 11 days in jail.
In February 2020, the O’Gradys and 81 Development sued Dr. Leslie, alleging two claims specific to them: stalking and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In addition, they alleged that Dr. Leslie was liable to them for trespass, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and injurious falsehood.
Dr. Leslie filed three motions for summary disposition during the litigation. The trial court granted his first motion, in part, and dismissed the claims for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and injurious falsehood. After discovery disputes and appeals to the court, the O’Gradys and 81 Development moved for leave to amend their complaint for only two claims — trespass and stalking — which the court granted.
Shortly thereafter, Dr. Leslie filed his second motion for summary disposition, arguing that the O’Gradys failed to plead viable claims of trespass and stalking, or that they suffered emotional distress or damages from stalking. Dr. Leslie conceded that he was liable for trespass and that the O’Gradys were entitled to damages, but he asserted that he was entitled to an offset for the $7,500 in restitution he had already paid.
From the Court of Appeals Opinion:
“There is nothing in the record from the plea hearing that Dr. Leslie had personal
knowledge that any of the O’Gradys had actually suffered emotional distress; he simply agreed that he intended to harass someone…”
At the motion hearing, the trial court struck the response brief filed by the O’Gradys and 81 Development as untimely because it was filed at 11 p.m. the night before the hearing. The trial court determined that the O’Gradys and 81 Development were each entitled to $2 in nominal damages for the trespass claims, and the cost of restoration had already been determined and paid by the restitution in the criminal matter.
In August 2022, the trial court entered an order of final judgment of no cause of action against the O’Gradys, a judgment of $0, after offsets, against Dr. Leslie in favor of the O’Gradys for trespass, and a judgment of no cause of action against the O’Gradys for all other counts. The trial court concluded that the “primary purpose in initiating the action … was to harass, embarrass, or injure [Dr. Leslie]” and thus the action was frivolous.
Ultimately, the court ordered the O’Gradys and 81 Development to pay Dr. Leslie’s costs of $21,783.49 and attorney fees of $211,356.32. The court further ordered that Dr. Leslie was awarded $159,171 under the offer-of-judgment rule.
Read the full Court of Appeals document here.
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