This law that our governor and legislature passed may benefit the law profession, but their benefit comes at the expense of the animals it is supposedly intended to protect. Every dollar a shelter spends on pulling documentation for investigations or litigation is one less dollar being spent on caring for animals and prevention services. Case in point, before CAPA all 3 counties had low cost spay neuter services available. Now only one county does, and that's New Castle County. As previously discussed, it's no surprise that Kent and Sussex were provided far less representation on the Animal Welfare Task Force, and all but one of the meetings are also in New Castle County. The state wouldn't want the very counties impacted the most to bring to light the real conditions under CAPA. The lowering of services shows us the financial pressure that is being placed on shelters due to the "No-Kill" agenda, and has been harmful to animals in the first state.
Most Recent Lawsuit
As noted previously, complaints and lawsuits continue to siphon away funding from the animals in Delaware. Recently there was an article regarding the newest lawsuit using CAPA (the weapon of mass harassment).
Name/Corporation
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Address
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Party
Type
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Filing
Date
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CROWTHER, CURTIS J
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YOUNG, CONAWAY, STARGATT and TAY
RODNEY SQUARE WILMINGTON DE 19801
Case: 8216 JULIA M. GITTMAN-CROWTHER ET AL V KENT COUNTY SOCI |
ATTORNEY
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15-JAN-2013
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"The suit seeks court orders barring the use of “temperament” tests that allow an animal to be put down; barring the Kent County SPCA from euthanizing animals if any space exists in the shelter; and ordering an independent monitor, at the Kent County SPCA’s expense, to ensure compliance with the state’s shelter standards, among other remedies.
Usilton said he believes the suit is part of an organized effort because he saw a copy of the filing and a story about it on the website of the activist group No Kill Delaware before he received any notification from the courts." - Sean O’Sullivan, DelawareOnline.com
I also find the motive suspect when someone sends a copy of the lawsuit to No-Kill Delaware on the very same day it is filed, before the court would even have an opportunity to serve the shelter with the the case.
What does an attorney have to gain by filing a lawsuit of this type? Mr. Crowther has already benefited from free publicity in the DelawareOnline article and the No-Kill Delaware blog about the case. The lawsuit also asks for costs and attorney's fees for a case brought about by this attorney, who filed the case on behalf of his own wife, so there is also a potential monetary motivation. If the plaintiff in this lawsuit was to prevail in barring temperament testing currently done by responsible shelters, the added risk of dangerous dogs being released to residents would also benefit the law industry. More bites would benefit attorneys across the state with added opportunity for litigation. And more importantly, that litigation would impact a shelter like Kent County SPCA the most, which would provide the "No-Kill" community with yet another weapon against Kent County SPCA.
We've already seen multiple instances that show what choosing to not temperament test looks like. Whether it be the dog from a "No-Kill" shelter that had to be shot when it attacked a resident's dog in the park, another dog from a "No-Kill" shelter that attacked a residents dog downstate. Dog bites are always a risk, but do we really want to increase the likelihood of deadly dogs attacks like the one last year that resulted in the death of a postal worker? And no child should ever have to suffer a devastating dog attack like the one in this story, just to provide attorneys with a new revenue stream. Based on the fact that Austin has seen a 35% increase in dogs bites since going "No-Kill", I'm sure attorneys across the state can look forward to benefiting from CAPA if Mr. Crowther were to win. Unfortunately the animals would lose out as potential adopters back away from shelter adoptions as more bite cases occur.
One irony in this case is that Mr. Crowther has also represented Chris Tigani in the past, a liquor distributor who I previously noted in the CAPA - An Example of "The Delaware Way" post as having ties to a number of politicians in Delaware, and who subsequently was imprisoned for illegal contributions. The cast of characters and the various relationships in Delaware could rival a season of the television show Dallas. Maybe that's what we need to do to become "No-Kill", start a new reality show called "The Delaware Way" that would fund shelter operations, pay for all the litigation, and reinstate low cost spay neuter throughout the state. I guess I should watch what I say, since our state government might consider creating a law to require all shelters participate in the reality series so the politicians could have a photo op on each show.
Other Cases
Most notable of other cases under CAPA is the Neo (Canine Nation) case which began in September 7, 2011, and has yet to be resolved.
Name/Corporation
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Address
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Party
Type
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Filing
Date
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BOWERS, A DALE
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A. DALE BOWERS, II, P.A. P.O. BOX
6047 WILMINGTON DE 19804-0647
Case: CPU4-11-005163 CANINE NATION VS KENT COUNTY SPCA |
ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF
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07-SEP-2011
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This was one of the very first cases in CAPA that I discussed in my very first post.
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| Neo when released by KCSPCA to Canine Nation |
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| Neo after 40+ days under Canine Nations care |
It appears in a recent docket entry that there has been a withdraw of the Plaintiff's counsel.
6-NOV-2012
12:10 PM MOTION BOWERS II, ALLEN D
Entry: MOTION DATE DOCKETED: NOVEMBER 27, 2012 MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL NOTICE OF MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL TO BE PRESENTED TO THE COURT ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012, AT 9:00 A.M. PROPOSED ORDER FOR MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE FOR MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL ACCEPTED BY: MKT TRANSACTION ID: 47928630
Maybe it's just a coincidence that No-Kill Delaware was recently seeking out additional legal assistance on a CAPA case, but I doubt it.
But I think this makes it clear that there is coordinated effort by the "No-Kill" movement to bleed Kent County SPCA financially into submission, so they will warehouse animals like other shelters in the state. Whether the lawsuits are to defend a rescue who had a dog in their care that ended up on the streets of Wilmington emaciated and bitten up, or whether it is a lawsuit to end temperament testing that serves to protect residents, all the lawsuits have the same result no matter who wins. That result is that every dollar paying staff to pull files and pay attorneys to defend years of litigation, are dollars taken away from caring for the animals. Too bad we can't wake up and find out the last season of "The Delaware Way" was just a bad dream reminiscent of other soap operas.
