May 15–A 14-year battle over the care of circus elephants belonging to Feld Entertainment ended Thursday with the Humane Society of the United States and others paying a $15.75 million settlement.
The lawsuit stems from a suit the Humane Society filed against Feld, parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus, over the care of its 43 Asian elephants.
The settlement already follows $9.3 million that the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals paid in 2012 for its connection to false claims against Feld in U.S. District Court in Washington.
“We hope this settlement payment, and the various court decisions that found against these animal rights activists and their attorneys, will deter individuals and organizations from bringing frivolous litigation like this in the future,” said Kenneth Feld, chairman and chief executive officer of Feld Entertainment. “This settlement is a significant milestone for our family-owned business and all the dedicated men and women who care for the Ringling Bros. herd of 42 Asian elephants. We look forward to continuing to set the standard for providing world-class care for all our animals and producing high quality, family entertainment.”
Feld’s circus operations took place in Vienna, Va., outside of Washington, during the lawsuit. The company is completing its 600,000-square-foot headquarters building in Palmetto that includes an area planned to provide temporary housing for circus animals.
The Humane Society and the codefendants, which included a former circus employee Tom Rider, sued Feld and Ringling in 2000, citing cruel treatment to endangered elephants by way of the Endangered Species Act, saying that the circus improperly removed the Asian elephants from their habitat and abused them.
The case was dismissed in 2001, but an appellate court reinstated the case in 2003 if Rider, of Washington, Ill., could prove he was injured by the Ringling Bros.’ care of the elephants.
The settlement also resolves another case Feld filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act for a plaintiff being paid to participate in the original lawsuit and the attorneys trying to cover up those payments. During the original suit, Feld found that the animal rights groups and their lawyers paid Rider $190,000 to be a paid plaintiff, which triggered the RICO suit, and found that Rider lied under oath.
The animal rights groups “sought to conceal the nature, extent and purpose of the payments” to Rider, whose attorney was paying him to participate.
The Humane Society became involved in the legal battle in 2004 when it merged with the Fund for Animals in 2004 and was considered an “independent racketeer” in the RICO suit. A judge denied a request in 2012 to throw out the RICO suit.
The Humane Society and codefendants Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, Born Free USA (formerly the Animal Protection Institute), Wildlife Advocacy Project, law firm Meyer, Glitzenstein Crystal and other current and former attorneys from that firm will have to pay the $15.75 million settlement, according to court documents.
So far, Feld recovered more than $25 million in legal fees defending the Endangered Species Act case.
“After winning 14 years of litigation, Feld Entertainment has been vindicated. This case was a colossal abuse of the justice system in which the animal rights groups and their lawyers apparently believed the ends justified the means. It also marks the first time in U.S. history where a defendant in an Endangered Species Act case was found entitled to recover attorneys’ fees against the plaintiffs due to the Court’s finding of frivolous, vexatious and unreasonable litigation,” said Feld Entertainment’s legal counsel in this matter, John Simpson, a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright’s Washington, D.C., office. “The total settlement amounts represent recovery of 100 percent of the legal fees Feld Entertainment incurred in defending against the ESA lawsuit.”