By ALEXANDREA BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
Popular raunchy card game, Cards Against Humanity [CAH], is suing SpaceX for egregious appropriation of its land in Cameron County.
In 2017, CAH purchased the property as part of a supporter-funded campaign to take a stand against the building of Donald Trump’s Border Wall, highlighting the legal rights of landowners along the border. Roughly 15,000 CAH supporters donated $15 each for the land’s purchase. CAH maintained the property to keep it in its natural state. CAH mowed it and placed “No Trespassing” signs along the property’s perimeter.
Since then, SpaceX has allegedly disregarded CAH’s rights to the land and has been regularly trespassing on the property, using it as what appears to be a construction site.
“SpaceX and/or its contractors entered the property and, after erecting posts to mark the property line, proceeded to ignore any distinction based upon property ownership. The site was cleared of vegetation, and the soil was compacted with gravel or other substances to allow SpaceX and its contractors to run and park its vehicles all over the property…” alleges CAH in its original petition. “Generators were brought in to run equipment and lights while work was being performed before and after daylight. An enormous mound of gravel was unloaded onto the property; the gravel is being stored and used for the construction of buildings by SpaceX’s contractors along the road. Large pieces of construction equipment and numerous construction-related vehicles are utilized and stored on the property continuously. And, of course, workers are present performing construction work and staging materials and vehicles for work to be performed on other tracts. In short, SpaceX has treated the property as its own for at least six months without regard for CAH’s property rights, nor the safety of anyone entering what has become a worksite.”
According to CAH, SpaceX never asked for permission to use the property. Notably, the purpose of CAH’s purchasing of the property was to ensure it would remain in its natural state.
CAH is suing SpaceX for $15 million in damages, and if awarded, will be splitting the amount between all those who donated to the original purchasing of the property.
The PRESS reached out to SpaceX regarding this situation, but did not receive a response as of the time of publication.