Stupid Lawsuits 101 - Teri Figueroa has a well written article for the NCTimes.com that's titled, "Trial over cat and dog fight starts today."
It is a 1.5 million dollar lawsuit over a cat that attacked a dog in a library.
You should read the full article to get the full absurdity of the whole thing, but basically this is the gist: Three years ago a disabled man enters a city library with his disability dog. The library was then the home of a cat. Well, the cat didn't like the dog so it scratched the dog's nose. Now the man is suing the city of Escondido for discriminating against his disabilities by having a cat in the library.
Here's a snippet from Figueroa's article:
Jury selection is slated to begin today in a $1.5 million lawsuit a man with disabilities filed against the city of Escondido after a cat living in a city library attacked his assistance dog in 2000.
Richard Ramon "Rik" Espinosa, acting as his own attorney, is suing the city for damages over the Nov. 16, 2000, incident. Espinosa alleges in the lawsuit that he has several disabilities, including major depressive and panic disorders.
Did you catch that? He has an "assistance dog" for his "major depressive and panic disorders" disability. The dog is there to calm and comfort him.
Well, I guess it's better than drugs.
Figueroa got a great quote from Escondido City Attorney Steven Nelson:
The key issue for us is we don't think that the cat scratching the dog is disability discrimination. The cat didn't prevent his access, it delayed his access."
Good Grief!
