Western NY Judge Sends Habeas Case for Bronx Zoo Elephant Back to NYC
A judge in rural Orleans County, New York, located about 380 miles from the Bronx Zoo, said at a hearing Friday that the best venue for a legal battle over the release of Happy, an Asian elephant living alone at the zoo, is back on the elephant's home turf.
December 14, 2018 at 05:43 PM
3 minute read
A judge in rural Orleans County, New York, located about 380 miles from the Bronx Zoo, said at a hearing Friday that the best venue for a legal battle over the release of Happy, an Asian elephant living alone at the zoo, is back on the elephant's home turf.
The Nonhuman Rights Project, led by attorney Steven Wise, took the effort to free Happy to Orleans County, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, because the organization felt that a recent Fourth Department ruling that extended legal personhood to a vandalized auto dealership may help their case.
The Bronx, however, is within the jurisdiction of the Appellate Division, First Department, which did not find favorably for the Nonhuman Rights Project in its past effort to get habeas for Tommy and Kiko, two captive chimpanzees.
Wise said that state Supreme Court Justice Tracey Bannister issued a bench ruling in favor of the zoo's motion for a venue change but that the judge did not rule on the merits of the Nonhuman Rights Project's case.
Kenneth Manning, a Buffalo-based partner at Phillips Lytle and Wise's opposing counsel, argued that the group was making an argument based on conditions of confinement, and thus habeas relief is not the proper avenue.
But Wise said his position is based on whether or not Happy should be confined at all.
“The question is whether you can be detained against your will,” Wise said. He said he is awaiting a written decision from the judge to determine his next steps, which may include appealing the matter to the Fourth Department.
In a statement, Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo, said the Nonhuman Rights Project lacks standing to bring the case and that the group is “desperately” seeking ways to advance its agenda in the courts.
“The NRP has chosen to exploit Happy and capitalize on the Bronx Zoo name to advance its failed political agenda,” the statement reads. “They continue to waste court resources to promote their radical philosophical view of 'personhood.' The NRP's own filings do not question Happy's care or our facilities, but seek to have her recognized as an autonomous being and transferred to an elephant sanctuary.”
In the Nonhuman Rights Project's previous effort to get Tommy and Kiko moved to an animal sanctuary in South Florida, the First Department found that the chimpanzees' cognitive abilities do not translate to an ability to bear legal duties.
The state Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal the First Department, but Judge Eugene Fahey took the unusual step of issuing a concurring opinion with the denial in which he said that determining personhood for a chimpanzee should focus on whether or not they have the same liberty rights as humans, not whether or not they have the same rights or duties as a human.
Read more:
Buoyed by Courts' Changing Attitudes on Personhood, Group Fights to Free Bronx Zoo Elephant
Panel Rejects Habeas Appeal for Pair of Captive Chimps
Chimp Advocate Doggedly Pursues Animal Rights
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllProsecutors Ask Judge to Question Charlie Javice Lawyer Over Alleged Conflict
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250