[ SHOWGSD-L ] At last- a "good for our side" ruling

  • From: Scharo777@xxxxxxx
  • To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2013 17:35:56 -0400 (EDT)

 
In  a Friday filing, United States District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan found 
that Feld  Entertainment — the parent company of the Ringling Brothers circus 
— was  entitled to attorneys’ fees in a longstanding litigation by a 
series of animal  rights and animal liberation groups. To call it longstanding 
is 
almost an  understatement: Sullivan dismissed the suit in late 2009, which 
was affirmed by  a circuit court in 2011, finding that a number of _animal 
rights groups lacked the legal authority to file suit  claiming_ 
(http://www.consumerfreedom.com/2011/10/4553-federal-court-tramples-three-ring-legal-circ
us/)  — and _perhaps paid a plaintiff to claim_ 
(http://www.consumerfreedom.com/2009/12/4063-court-decision-bullhooks-hsus-exec/)
  — that Feld was  
engaged in elephant cruelty. 
Now,  the judge has ruled that “this case was groundless and unreasonable 
from its  inception” and the animal rights plaintiffs must pay Feld’s legal 
fees. And  while the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) — _which was 
deeply tied to the animal liberationist side of  the case_ 
(http://www.consumerfreedom.com/2009/12/4063-court-decision-bullhooks-hsus-exec/)
  — wasn’t 
held liable, the judge left open the question of  whether the nation’s 
richest animal liberation group might find itself on the  hook at a later date 
should Feld choose to re-argue that portion of its case.  (One of the 
original plaintiffs that may have to pay up as a result of this  finding, the 
Fund 
for Animals, _was absorbed into the HSUS corporate empire during the  case_ 
(http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/hsus_takes_the_credit_except_when
_it_comes_to_racketeering/) .) 
And  lest you forget, there’s still a second lawsuit before Sullivan. In 
this  one the tables are turned: Feld is suing HSUS and others _alleging they 
engaged in a racketeering  conspiracy_ 
(http://www.humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/rico_update_lawsuit_against_hsus_moves_forward/)
  in violation of 
federal RICO law. A different animal  rights group, the ASPCA, perhaps saw 
which way the legal winds were blowing in  that case and _paid Feld almost 
$10 million in December to  settle_ 
(http://www.humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/aspca_settlement/)  both cases. 
_The editors of The Wall Street Journal_ 
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323296504578396731678206340.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop)
  
 praised Judge Sullivan’s decision to award legal fees to Feld, and they 
took  HSUS boss Wayne Pacelle to task for his petulant hectoring of Feld’s 
defense of  its business. The editors write: 
The  animal-rights crowd responded with letters to the editor suggesting 
that the  lawsuit had been a splendid, public-spirited affair. Humane Society 
of the  United States President and CEO Wayne Pacelle wrote that Feld was a “
disgruntled  corporation” trying to “silence its critics” because it has 
filed a “grudge  suit” of its own. Mr. Pacelle is upset that plaintiffs 
have 
been nailed for  abusing the courts to harass a law-abiding company. 
We  couldn’t have put it better  ourselves.
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