A couple of good stories drawing me back to the blog today...

Congrats to animal law attorney Randy Turner, who just scored another big legal victory, this time for Bat World Sanctuary.  Could not find it on the web, but here's the press release from Randy's office:

Bat World Sanctuary, a non-profit organization devoted to rescuing and rehabilitating bats, and it’s president, Amanda Lollar of Mineral Wells were awarded $6.1 million in damages by a Tarrant County district judge today in a defamation lawsuit.  After a four-day trial the court found that Mary Cummins of Los Angeles, California had committed defamation against Amanda Lollar and had breached her internship contract with Bat World Sanctuary.

 

In 2010 Mary Cummins was accepted for an internship at Bat World Sanctuary at Mineral Wells.  While at Bat World she became dissatisfied with the program and left the internship early.  According to the plaintiffs she went back to California and began posting “horrific allegations of animal cruelty against Amanda Lollar on the internet.”   She accused Amanda Lollar of performing “illegal surgeries” on bats without anesthesia, possessing and distributing controlled substances without a DEA license, throwing dead bats in the trash, allowing interns to be repeatedly bitten by rabid bats, breeding bats illegally, giving human rabies vaccinations to interns, and neglecting her pet dogs.   She filed reports of animal cruelty with numerous wildlife and conservation organizations as well as humane and animal welfare organizations.  She also complained to a foundation that had been providing funding to Bat World but stopped doing so after receiving Cummins’ complaint.  She filed complaints with the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Texas Attorney General, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA, the Mineral Wells Police Department, the Mineral Wells Fire Department, the Palo Pinto District Attorney and other agencies.  According to Eric Shupps, the plaintiff’s expert on information technology, Cummins used “search engine optimization” and “Google bombs” to spread her defamation far and wide across the internet.

 

Judge William Brigham, who was the visiting judge in the 352^nd District Court of Tarrant County, announced at the conclusion of the trial that Amanda Lollar is world-renowned and is to bats what Jane Goodall is to primates.  He said that Mary Cummins’ defamation of Amanda Lollar was “intentional, malicious, and egregious” and ordered her to pay $3.0 million in compensatory damages and $3.0 million in punitive damages.  He also ordered her to pay $10,000 for breach of her contract with Bat World and $176,700 in attorney’s fees.

 

Lollar’s attorney, Randy Turner with the firm, Bailey & Galyen, said “this judgment sends a powerful message to cyberstalkers and others who use the internet to harass people or to harm their reputations.  Innocent victims like Amanda Lollar often don’t have the resources, expertise, or ability to defend themselves against such vicious internet attacks.  Hopefully this judgment will make someone think twice before engaging in an internet smear campaign.”  Bat World Sanctuary is accredited by the American Sanctuary Association and verified by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.