Hate-Crime Charge Added
to Library-cat Lawsuit
Richard Espinosa has amended his $1.5-million lawsuit against the city of Escondido, California, to include an allegation of hate crime. The original suit, filed last November, charged that the city violated Espinosa’s civil rights and caused him lasting physical and emotional damage when the public library’s cat attacked his dog Kimba, who is trained to assist him with panic attacks, in November 2000.
The new charge says the city violated a state penal code section prohibiting anyone from using force to interfere with a person’s free exercise of constitutional rights based on factors that include a person’s disability, the Escondido North County Times reported April 6.
Espinosa has already rejected a $1,500 settlement offer from the city, Deputy City Attorney Steve Nelson said in the March 13 San Diego Union Tribune. A ruling is expected April 18.
Posted April 15, 2002.
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