http://www.argusleader.com/article/20121108/NEWS/311080041/Judge-pushes-progress-animal-rescue-center-lawsuitJudge pushes for progress in animal rescue center lawsuit
11:39 PM, Nov 7, 2012 | Comments
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John Hult
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Read the court document outlining the case
The judge in a long-delayed civil lawsuit against Turner County, the now-defunct Second Chance Rescue Center and the Humane Society of the United States told the parties Wednesday to “make it a priority” to ready the case for trial.
Former Hurley dog breeder Daniel Reed Christensen filed his federal complaint in 2010, shortly after a Turner County judge ruled a search-and-seizure operation on his property was the result of an illegally obtained warrant.
Christensen had been charged with 173 counts of animal cruelty after his hunting dogs were seized by Second Chance, with the assistance of the Humane Society of the United States.
His lawsuit, which demands $5 million in damages, claims that former shelter director Rosey Quinn conspired with the national animal rights group to seize his property and defame his character, manipulating the state’s legal system under the largely complacent eye of Turner County officials.
The shelter closed its doors in 2010, less than six months after Christensen’s criminal case was thrown out.
The parties to the federal case have clashed in written filings for more than two years. The most recent set of motions dealt with which documents will or won’t be produced for perusal by Christensen’s lawyers and used in the jury trial.
“This case is a little more than two years old,” U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier told lawyers during a telephone hearing in her chambers Wednesday morning. “It needs to become a top priority for you all.”
During that hearing, Schreier granted HSUS a protective order allowing it to hand over internal emails and documents to Christensen’s lawyers but shield them from public view. The agency had refused to release reams of documents and emails without the protection of confidentiality.
Opening the documents to public scrutiny before any determination of wrongdoing could unfairly damage the group’s reputation and fundraising efforts, according to agency lawyer Elizabeth Hertz.
Brian Radke, Christensen’s lawyer, argued that HSUS deserved no such protection, noting that photos and videos of the Sept. 2, 2009 raid on Christensen’s Hurley farm were disseminated to the media immediately, and that those items continue to circulate online.
No trial date has been set. After the hearing, Radke said the nearest possible jury trial date would be next year.
