Pennsylvania-based not for profit Canine Partners for Life (CPL) asked a Chester County judge to force a Florida county commissioner to remove “defamatory and harmful statements” from the Internet and prevent her from speaking publicly about a cross-state custody battle over a 10 year old service dog named Livy, according to documents filed in Chester County.
The maneuver is the latest legal action in a bitter battle for custody of the service dog that has put the charity at loggerheads with Hernando County Commissioner Diane Rowden.
“Ms. Rowden’s false, defamatory and harmful statements continue to linger across the Internet, repeatedly injuring Canine Partners in perpetuity,” according to the filing. “Further, based upon Ms. Rowden’s past actions, she will continue to publicly disparage Canine Partners – attempting to prejudice these proceedings and affect the outcome in her favor.”
Canine Partners asked the Court to impose a temporary preliminary injunction against Ms. Rowden; that the injunction immediately direct Rowden to remove, or otherwise deactivate, two Websites under her exclusive control – her Internet site “Help Us Save Livy” and her Facebook page “Save Livy” – pending final determination in this case.
CPL is asking that the injunction prohibit Rowden from attempting to prejudice legal proceedings by discussing – or otherwise communicating – any matters related to the litigation with the news media, or through social media or other public outlets.
Last month the charity sued Rowden for launching a “campaign of disparagement.”
Lawyers have been involved in this cross-state dog custody battle case for some time. The charity was told by one of the lawyers who had represented Rowden that Rowden agreed to return Livy. Instead, the two-term Hernando County Commissioner, who recently announced that she’s again running for re-election, initiated a smear campaign, according to the lawsuit.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS: http://thepublicityagency.com/canine-partners-for-life-cpl/
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SOURCE: Canine Partners for Life
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