Trending
The defendants in the lawsuit brought forward by the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Marshalltown against Marshall County, the City of Laurel and County Attorney Jordan Gaffney have filed responses to the claims against them and demanded a jury trial.
When ARL Executive Director Austin Gillis announced the lawsuit in a July 6 press conference, he referred to two incidents in May when the ARL traveled to Laurel, responding to law enforcement calls for assistance. In the first incidents, the ARL took in six cats, seven and two dogs; and four cats in the second. The animals remained with the ARL for 61 days.
At the time when the lawsuit was filed, the bill for the response and care of the animals – the boarding charges, food, shelter, veterinary care, utilities, staffing, sanitation and more – added up to more than $21,000, and the ARL had not been reimbursed. According to Gillis, the county and the city of Laurel disagreed over which party was financially responsible while ignoring the required 10-day timeline, and as a result, the nonprofit was caught in the middle.
On Monday, attorney Jason Palmer with Lamson Dugan & Murray in West Des Moines filed answers for the defendants, denying all of the claims and requesting that the matter be decided by a jury.
In the answers, many of the statements made in the ARL lawsuit were denied due to lack of information, such as the Marshall County Sheriff requesting assistance from the ARL in capturing the animals, and that there was no contract in place between the nonprofit and the county. The defendants also deny that the ARL requested payment confirmation before agreeing to help.
The last contract between the ARL and the county expired in March. Gillis had said they decided to terminate it because they felt the county was not fulfilling its obligations, such as at-large and bite cases.
The ARL suit states that law enforcement gave assurances the county would reimburse for services, Afterward, neither the city nor the county made "good-faith" efforts to resolve the issue. In the answer, the defendants deny both claims.
The ARL lawsuit stated the county and the city knew the ARL was a nonprofit with limited shelter and finances, which the defendants denied.
Many additional statements provided by the ARL regarding care of the animals were denied by the defendants due to lack of information.
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.