Lawsuit of the Day: Weil Gotshal Loves Puppies!
The recently released Michael Vick can expect no quarter from most animal lovers. I forget how long he was in jail, but if his sentence didn’t involve a dog biting him in the ass every day, then it wasn’t long enough.
But Vick is (or was) merely a retailer in the world of inhumane treatment of animals. The real outrage should be directed at the wholesalers. And that is just what Weil Gotshal appears to be doing. The firm won a major victory against the alleged puppy mill Wizard of Claws, in Broward County Circuit Court:
The Broward County Circuit Court has issued a ruling refusing to dismiss several defendants from a major class action lawsuit against a south Florida puppy dealer known as “Wizard of Claws.” The suit, filed in 2007, accuses Wizard of Claws, its owners, and its affiliates of defrauding customers by misrepresenting the origin of puppies, and by selling puppy mill dogs who suffer from severe health problems and genetic defects.The court’s order allows plaintiffs to proceed with their claims against three entities sharing common ownership with Wizard of Claws — Celebrity Kennels, Inc., Dog Breeder Kennel, Inc. and Puppies for Sale, Inc. — and also directs the defendants to turn over records regarding the puppies they have sold to the public. The court also ordered the owners of Wizard of Claws to sit for depositions concerning their business practices.
This victory has been a long time coming for lawyers at Weil Gotshal. More details after the jump.
Weil has been fighting this battle so hard that the recently fired Quinn Emanuel associate might want to put in a resume to the firm:
The class action lawsuit is the result of years of legal investigation by the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and lawyers of The HSUS. Through extensive investigation, Weil and The HSUS [Humane Society of the United States] uncovered reports of serious, systematic violations of Florida’s animal and consumer protection laws by Wizard of Claws, its owners and its corporate affiliates. The violations include allegations concerning the sale of sick puppies with life-threatening genetic defects and highly contagious parasitic infections, and the refusal to reimburse customers for either the purchase price of sick puppies or veterinary treatments that sometimes cost thousands of dollars.
Generally speaking, buying a dog at a pet store or over the internet (eek!) is one of the worst things you can do. Pet stores are a volume business, while professional and accredited dog breeders focus on quality over quantity. And if you can’t pay the freight for an expensive breeder, there are tons of lovable animals languishing in pounds and pet rescues across the country.
Not surprisingly, Weil is doing this work for free. But does this mean Weil is a dog-friendly place? Wouldn’t a “bring your pet to work” day be awesome for employee morale (less awesome for building maintenance morale, to be sure)? If you want to be the firm that loves puppies, you might as well throw your employee/pet-lovers a bone.
Judge Orders Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Infamous Florida Puppy Dealers [The Humane Society]
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first or third?
Dogs are not allowed on the firm's premises. It's bad enough that associates need to be house broken and trained.
Dogs at work is a disgusting idea.
Woof.....
soroka whats good?
The Padishah Emperor has a kitten mill on the planet Kaitain, where they breed hunting cats that can track and kill a man.
petfinder.com
8th donut today for MysTTTal
NORTH KOREA.
Is it finally seeping into your atrophied brains, you self-absorbed nitwits?
No?
9= Kim Jong Ill
No one needs a dog from a breeder unless they're showing professionally. 30% of animals in shelters are purebred, so no excuses there. Not to mention that there are hundreds of breed-specific rescue groups all over the country if you just have to have a designer dog. Don't encourage breeding for profit - adopt from a shelter or rescue group.
Elie—you seem to be unclear on the ALT “Lawsuit of the Day” concept. It is not the cute warm and fuzzy lawsuit of the day, it is an ALT feature dedicated to stupidity—only the most ridiculous AND FUNNY lawsuits need apply.
See, e.g., Lawsuit of the Day: My Toxic Love [“A Long Island surgeon embroiled in a nearly four-year divorce proceeding wants his estranged wife to return the kidney he donated to her…”]; Lawsuit of the Day: God is Indemnified [“You can't sue God if you can't serve the papers on him, a Douglas County District Court judge ruled in Omaha Tuesday.”]; Lawsuit of the Day: Cordero v. Epstein [“Epstein, in order to quell the girl’s fears as to what people would think of her blowing a man old enough to be her father,…”].
"Weil hearts puppies" just doesn’t fit the criteria for Lawsuit of the Day.
11 - FYI, real breeders don't breed for "profit" - they breed to keep up their lines and breed perhaps one litter a year.
animal over-population is not caused by legitimate breeders who really love a breed; it is caused by 1) puppy mills like this place, 2) people who want their kids to experience the joys of birth and thus breed their dog and have to get rid of 10 puppies no one wants, and 3) people who are just too lazy to neuter/spay and then let their pets run wild.
They may love puppies but they hate their associates. Here come the layoffs!
I only care about this lawsuit inasmuch as it makes dogmeat tastier...
Bangkok Bologna.
Kudos to the Weil team. This is great work.
DON'T BUY YOUR PETS EVER! ALWAYS ADOPT!
I was invited by some Tahitians to join their family for Christmas dinner but passed.
A fellow vacationer who accepted reported that the main course was dog.
Weil is investigating.......
14 - you are so wrong and so gay. Shut your mouth and eat your dollar menu sandwich from mc donalds.
14 - you are so wrong and so gay. Shut your mouth and eat your dollar menu sandwich from mc donalds.
14 - you are so wrong and so gay. Shut your mouth and eat your dollar menu sandwich from mc donalds.
13 - The proportion of breeders who meet the qualifications you suggest is 1%. Open your local newspaper, and you will find a long list of breeder ads - only a tiny proportion of these are from the sorts of dedicated breed aficionados that, e.g., limit breeding and show their dogs, the rest (and vast majority) are backyard breeders who sell for profit.
You should not patronize breeders unless you will either be showing your dog or using it for search and rescue, trained guard duty, or other serious work.
Awww- that puppy in the picture is sooo cute!
Noone who doesn't have a female relative who's a Daughter of the Revolution has any, ANY business breeding/showing dogs
I'm in favor of bring your pet to work day.
People who can bring their dogs to work are happier and more satisfied even while working longer hours because they don't have to run home to take care of the dog. Employers that don't realize this are closed minded idiots - the ones in the silicon valley that have done it have never looked back.
18-20 = Weil associate laid off for poor performance.
26=DLA Piper paralegal rejected by Weil in first round.
18-20 = Weil's equity partner
26=DLA Piper paralegal rejected by Weil in first round.
18-20 = Weil's equity partner
how nice to hear about something so positive as lawsuit of the day. weil is a great firm for doing this.
You should ALWAYS first try to rescue a dog before seeking a perfectly bred pet from a breeder. Rescued dogs love their owners even more because they understand they have been given a second chance- Do the right thing.