Saving Animals from a Cruel End

• Client: Chesley Morton et al.
• Date: March, 2007
• Location: Fulton County, Georgia

Summary:

Schiff Hardin attorneys from our Atlanta and San Francisco offices helped put an end to the illegal and inhumane gassing of domestic animals by the Georgia Department of Agriculture in violation of Georgia's Humane Euthanasia Act.

In a lawsuit brought by a former state representative and a woman whose dog had been illegally gassed, our attorneys developed a strategy in conjunction with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to demonstrate the state's continued tolerance of the use of gas chambers to destroy unwanted animals, even though the law specifically mandates injection with barbiturates, a much quicker and less painful method. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Wright handed down an injunction in favor of the plaintiffs that quoted Mahatma Gandhi's observation that the greatness of a nation can be determined by the way it treats its animals.

Obtaining injunctive relief against a state agency is a significant challenge, and Schiff Hardin's attorneys met that challenge with dedication and talent.

Chesley Morton et al. v. Georgia Department of Agriculture No. 34512-0001