Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always had a fascination with David and Goliath-type battles. So when the news came down Tuesday that the Helena Chemical Company of Collierville, Tennessee, filed suit against community activist Arturo Uribe of Mesquite, New Mexico, for alleged defamation and slander, I took immediate notice.

The suit, which seeks more than $25,000, also names Uribe’s wife and attorney and seeks to delve deeply into their personal lives.

This from an article about the suit in the Las Cruces News Sun: “In an attached set of questions, Uribe is also asked about any papers he has written on the environment, the legal theories and factual bases of his defenses, his employment and any criminal history, the value of his property and his family’s medical treatment and computer IP addresses over the last decade.”

So what ugly things have the Uribes been saying to warrant this bazooka blast from the enormous chemical company? The Uribes say that Helena, which operates a warehouse just doors away from the Uribe family home, has caused damage to the health of their children and others in the community.

In October, Arturo Uribe and a number of residents of Mesquite and La Mesa first filed a lawsuit alleging negligence by Helena. Specifically, the Uribes and others in the community claim the company’s work blending fertilizer has caused people, including the Uribe’s children, to suffer from severe respiratory problems that required hospitalization.

As part of the complaint, the suit listed the 11 violations of the state Air Quality Act and the $279,000 in fines leveled against Helena by the New Mexico Environment Department for acts that occurred as late as July.

I’ve interviewed Uribe and reported on his claims in the past, as have many other media outlets. And I have to say I know of few people more sincere and motivated by good. Uribe is a husband, father and student who’s been involved in everything from voter registration to getting a much-needed skate park built in his rural community.

The Las Cruces New Sun has noticed Uribe too — the newspaper recently named him as one of their “Movers and Shakers” in a recent year-end wrapup.

And maybe I’m just too spellbound by the David and Goliath analogy, but isn’t this a bit… lopsided? Doesn’t a slander and libel lawsuit filed against three people by a huge company smack in the middle of pending litigation seem a bit… intimidating?

Helena’s representatives in New Mexico say it is their policy to withhold comment on pending litigation.

Okay, file your suit, Helena Chemical.

But all it does is make me wonder what you have to hide.