SPCA ordered to pay couple $96,000
Fayette County President Judge William J. Franks ruled that the county’s Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will have to pay a $96,000 award handed down in January. John J. and Ruth A. Tabaj sued the SPCA and Tri-County Humane Protection Inc. in 1993, after employees of both organizations illegally came on to their land and handed out citations for animal cruelty.
After lingering in the court system for years, the suit finally went to trial in January, and jurors awarded the Tabajes $96,000 from the SPCA for invasion of privacy and malicious prosecution.
That verdict was subsequently appealed, asking Franks to set aside the verdict or grant the SPCA a new trial. He handed down an order denying those requests.
According to the original suit filed by the Tabajes, two state police troopers and six humane offers came to their farm operating on a tip from Paul Perry, the couple’s former son-in-law.
A search warrant for the farm indicated that Perry told a Tri-County employee that animals were kept in “unsanitary” conditions on the farm. Tri-County Humane is a non-profit agency out of Allegheny County.
John Tabaj was cited for three counts of cruelty to animals and two unlicensed dog offenses. However, the SPCA dropped those citations after then-District Attorney Ralph C. Warman sent a letter to organization claiming their animal control officer was not properly certified.
The Tabajes sued, claiming that John Tabaj was subjected to “public humiliation, insult and suffering.”
The suit also said that Tabaj was put under arrest, imprisoned and held for two hours while his property was searched.
That detainment, according to the lawsuit, caused “severe damage to (Tabaj’s) credit and reputation.”
Franks’ opinion indicated that he felt there was enough evidence to award to prove the Tabajes were subject to malicious prosecution and invasion of privacy.
Former employees have said that the inability to pay the award has forced the shelter into closing its doors.