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Church sues former member for blog

BEAVERTON, Ore., May 14 (UPI) -- A Beaverton, Ore., woman is facing a defamation suit for starting a blog criticizing a church she says shunned her family.

Julie Ann Smith began a blog called "Beaverton Grace Bible Church Survivors" after she said the church shunned her family, refusing to even look at them. After only a few months, the site has had 26,000 views.

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"I know you are shunning me, but tell me what did I do wrong?" she asked. "What did our family do wrong?"

She posted her concerns on a Google review, but her comments kept disappearing.

On March 1, the Rev. Charles O'Neal hit Smith and two other former members with a $500,000 defamation suit, pointing to terms such as "creepy" and "control tactics" on her blog.

"This is the country of freedom where we can say things, and I have to laugh because what I have on my blog is so tame compared to what I read on the Internet," Smtih told KGW-TV, Portland, Ore.

Smith attorney Linda Williams said the lawsuit is frivolous because of free speech protections, not to mention the high damage request.

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"It would be extremely difficult to determine that wording or posting caused that tremendous $500,000 worth of damage," Williams said.

Smith has filed a motion for dismissal, which is to be heard May 21. Beaverton Grace Bible Church could not be reached for comment.

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