Jun 06, 2008 — One of the North Country's most influential and controversial farmers is locked in a court battle with the Adirondack Park Agency and New York's Attorney General. State officials say Sandy Lewis needed APA permits to build three new houses for workers on his farm in Essex County. Lewis defied their order and this spring the APA fined him $50,000. Lewis filed a counter-suit. He accuses the APA of intimidation, regulatory bullying, and hostility to farmers. The case goes to trial June 19th. As Brian Mann reports, the complex and bitter fight could establish new legal precedents for agriculture in the Adirondack Park.