THE MACFARLANE FIRM
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW
DALLAS COMMUNICATIONS COMPLEX
400 E. ROYAL LANE, SUITE 290
IRVING, TEXAS 75039
(972) 725-9341
FACSIMILE (888) 453-8006

RON G. MACFARLANE, JR.

rmacfarlane@macfarlanelaw.com

October 13, 2017
VIA E-MAIL TO MIKEWILSON@DALLASNEWS.COM,
CERTIFIED MAIL -RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED,
AND COPY VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL
Mr. Mike Wilson
Editor
Dallas Morning News
508 Young Street
Dallas, Texas 75202-4808
Dear Mr. Wilson:
I am the city attorney for the City of Cedar Hill, Texas. The purpose of this letter is to express
my concern, prior to publication, regarding a series of interactions with members of your
investigative reporting team, Miles Moffeit and Sue Ambrose. For the past seven months, elected
officials and city staff have spent considerable time and effort responding to wide-ranging questions
that are accusatory in nature but, until recently, have not been specific about any allegation of
wrongdoing. This week, the reporters made an allegation, based on advice from unnamed “legal
experts,” that elected officials may have violated state law. We take these allegations very seriously
and I have asked for that opinion of the “legal experts” in writing so that the city can specifically
respond to the malicious allegation.
On behalf of the City of Cedar Hill, I strongly urge you, prior to publishing any stories, to
review the notes, e-mails and questions from your reporters as well as the voluminous answers the
city has provided. Our elected officials, commission appointees, and city staff have exhausted
themselves responding to a never-ending list of questions that is unprecedented for a community of
our size and, more often than not, are based on misinformation or a lack of understanding of basic
government processes and relevant statutes, which creates the real possibility of an inaccurate and
libelous story.
We look forward to hearing from you or one of your editors concerning these issues.

 Mr. Mike Wilson
October 13, 2017
Page 2
With best regards, I am
Very truly yours,

Ron G. MacFarlane, Jr.

RGM/dns
cc:

Christine Larkin
R. Tomlin
Miles Moffeit
Sue Ambrose

Via First Class Mail
Via E-Mail to rtomlin@dallasnews.com
Via E-Mail to mmoffeit@dallasnews.com
Via E-Mail to sambrose@dallasnews.com