I attended the meeting in Old Lyme regarding a potential compromise over ownership and use of Tantummaheag Landing. I believe the agreement would have been effective. George Frampton and his wife described the town’s concerns as baseless, relying on documents hundreds of years old. He threatened to bring a lawsuit in federal court. There was nothing conciliatory about his tone or words. The Framptons forgot the sense of fair play for the people of Old Lyme and believe they have a “slam dunk.” However, they have apparently forgotten the principle of equity. Equity principles are part of American law and incorporate the notion of fairness. There are the doctrines of unclean hands, sitting on your hands and estoppel, which permits courts to deny a plaintiff relief where plaintiff’s conduct would make it unfair.

I cannot imagine the owners were not aware of this issue when they bought the property. It is likely the price reflected the presence of the landing. My hope is that equity and fair play will rule the day. It is unfortunate that Mr. and Mrs. Frampton did not choose to address the concerns of the people of this town rather than to dismiss them. This could have all been behind us.

Fred Fenton

Old Lyme