Superior Court upholds $96,000 verdict against animal shelter
04/08/2003
The state Superior Court has upheld a $96,000 verdict against a Fayette County animal shelter in the case of a dairy farmer who said he was wrongfully cited for animal abuse nearly a decade ago.
The Fayette County branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said last year that the verdict was so large it could force their shelter to close. The SPCA had appealed, arguing the damages awarded were too high and that there was not enough evidence to support them. The group also argued, unsuccessfully, that it was immune from being sued as a government agency.
"What is more shameful than a farmer being accused of cruelty to animals?" the court said, in upholding the verdict, issued last week.
SPCA officials didn't immediately return calls Tuesday for comment on whether they plan to appeal the latest decision.
The damages stem from April 1993 when John Tabaj sued the SPCA and the now-defunct Tri-County Humane Protections Inc. for invasion of privacy and malicious prosecution.
Tabaj said six animal control agents, four of them armed, were sent by the SPCA to search his 190-acre dairy farm in Dunbar Township. The agents were looking for a stolen dog that belonged to the estranged husband of Tabaj's daughter. Though the dog was never found, Tabaj said animal control workers placed him in custody for two hours and issued animal abuse citations, including one for a cow.
The group dropped the charges after Tabaj argued that the allegations were mistaken and said the cow was being treated by a veterinarian.
SPCA members have said that Fayette County strays might have to be taken to neighboring Somerset County if the shelter is closed.
ŠNEPA News 2007