Rana Soluri said the perception that her two pit bulls were doomed unless she took a different stance factored into her decision to settle her lawsuit with the Fort Worth animal control department Tuesday.
"I don't know what 'innocent until proven guilty' means anymore," Soluri said. "It's not an ego thing. It's just that my dogs were wrongly accused and now I can't fight for them. I've been strong-armed into making this agreement."
The agreement calls for Soluri to pay about $2,700 in boarding costs and veterinarian charges and comply with seven conditions set by a municipal judge before her two pit bulls can be released.
The dogs, Lilo and Stitch, are being held at a vet's office with a municipal judge's order to destroy them.
Soluri has 15 days to comply with the court's Sept. 27 order. Once she can show animal control officers that she has complied, a joint motion asking the judge to set aside the order to destroy the dogs will be filed with the court.
"We're happy to have a resolution in this case," Deputy City Attorney Gerald Pruitt said.
Soluri sued the city because she maintains that her dogs were taken, under a municipal judge's order, without due process.
In a sworn affidavit, Lesley K. Miller, Soluri's next-door neighbor, said the two dogs broke through her backyard fence and chased her and her 6-month-old German shepherd puppy to her back door.
Soluri and her attorney challenged Miller's account and said state law leaves no avenue to appeal decisions made in dangerous-dog cases. Miller could not be reached for comment.
The case landed in state District Judge Melody Wilkinson's court Monday. Although Wilkinson's court hears civil matters, prosecutors maintained that she did not have jurisdiction in the case.
"This court is not a court of appeals," Assistant City Attorney Harvey Frye argued Monday.
Aimee Norwood, who was called Monday to testify in Soluri's behalf, said her pit bull has also been declared a dangerous dog by Fort Worth officials.
Norwood said her four dogs got out of her yard, approached a couple who were walking their dog in February 2010 and became involved in a scuffle.
Norwood's pit bull, Pluto, was singled out for the dangerous-dog designation, Norwood said.
Once a dog has been declared dangerous, the owner can do nothing to change it, Norwood said.
Norwood also said she was unable to plead her dog's case during a hearing.
It cost her family more than $7,000 to comply with the municipal judge's order, Norwood testified.
"I wanted to appeal our decision," Norwood said Monday.
"We felt the trial was unfair and we were unable to present our side. But my attorney said that although you can appeal, there are no courts that will hear your case."
The settlement ends all the jurisdictional wrangling in the Soluri case.
"I'm really disappointed about not being able to go forward," said Soluri's attorney, Christiana Dijkman.
"I think there was a constitutional violation here."
(Fort Worth Star Telegram - Nov 6, 2012)
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