The Fifth District Court of Appeal upheld a previous court’s decision that Fresno County deputies violated a woman’s rights and unnecessarily killed her dog — and the appeal has cost the county more money, the woman’s attorney said. A Fresno County jury awarded Veronica Ordaz Gonzalez and her family $800,000 two years ago after Fresno County Sheriff’s entered her home without her consent and shot Scooby, a 4-year-old dog she had raised since he was a puppy, according to court records. The county appealed the decision, arguing there was an error in jury instructions and that the amount of money to be paid out was excessive. The Fifth District Court of Appeal found in an opinion filed Wednesday that the county failed to prove its case. The county will be required to pay out $800,000 to the family, about $800,000 in attorneys fees and a yet-to-be determined amount of new attorneys fees from the appeal, according to Nolan Kane, the partner with Paboojian Inc. who represented Ordaz Gonzalez. Kane estimated the sum to reach $2 million after the attorneys fees are calculated.
Paboojian Inc. lawsuit against Fresno County on behalf of 10 clients alleges cancer was caused by leaks from the underground courthouse gas station.
Article by by: Edward Smith | GV Wire Now, the safety of that gas station and its underground...