20 June 2017

Important News re: Chicken Kaporos in New York City and Orange County, California

Supporters of the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos -

We have legal updates for you, and the 2017 campaign is gearing up!

Watch as New Yorkers confront Mayor de Blasio and Council Member Greenfield at a Town Hall meeting in Brooklyn about the 15+ laws and regulations broken every year without legal consequence in NYC:


Big news! Update regarding the lawsuit filed against the City of New York:

Decision rendered from Appellate Division, First Department, on Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos v. City of New York appeal - First Dept. Affirms Lower Court. http://nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2017/2017_04408.htm

Although the lower court’s decision dismissing the case has been affirmed, it was done by only three out of the five justices who presided over the matter. Two of the five justices dissented (disagreed) with their colleagues who affirmed. This is something that is not seen often on the appellate division level. The two dissenting justices joined in a separate opinion. The fact that there are two dissenters and a question of law means that appellants can appeal in New York State’s highest court, The Court of Appeals, as a matter of right. The only court higher than a state’s highest court is the United States Supreme Court. While Alliance attorney Nora Constance Marino, Esq. respects the honorable justices of the Appellate Division, she feels it is the dissenting opinion that captured the true nature of this matter, and Marino vows to press on to the Court of Appeals.

The decision was featured on the front page of the New York Law Journal, among other publications:
http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202788856187/Panel-Rejects-Attempt-to-Compel-City-to-Halt-Religious-Slaughtering-Ritual

Since the above article, Nora Constance Marino, Esq. (MarinoJustice.com) has taken further action:

“A notice of appeal was filed today with the lower court. (This is procedurally correct.) We then file a preliminary appeal statement within the next ten days to the Court of Appeals. After that, we can expect a briefing scheduling order from the Court of Appeals.”

Separately, the Orange County, CA attorney has released this update on the status of his case in which United Poultry Concerns is the plaintiff:

“I’m sending this to those who signed declarations in our federal case to stop Kapparot and attorneys who helped. On Friday [May 12, 2017] the court finally issued a ruling on the defendants’ motion to dismiss and found that accepting money in exchange for killing and discarding chickens is not a ‘business practice,’ which is the only way we can challenge it as private citizens. Now it’s more important than ever to get local authorities to step up and enforce the animal cruelty laws.

In the meantime, we are appealing this ruling to the Ninth Circuit, and our state court case against the same entity is still pending and [was] scheduled to go to trial June 19. It is unclear at this point if the federal ruling will persuade the state court to dismiss that case as well.” -Bryan W. Pease, Attorney

Separately, the Orange County, CA attorney has released this update on the status of his case in which United Poultry Concerns is the plaintiff: United Poultry Concerns v. Chabad of Irvine et al., May 12, 2017

“I’m sending this to those who signed declarations in our federal case to stop Kapparot and attorneys who helped. On Friday [May 12, 2017] the court finally issued a ruling on the defendants’ motion to dismiss and found that accepting money in exchange for killing and discarding chickens is not a ‘business practice,’ which is the only way we can challenge it as private citizens. Now it’s more important than ever to get local authorities to step up and enforce the animal cruelty laws.

In the meantime, we are appealing this ruling to the Ninth Circuit, and our state court case against the same entity is still pending and [was] scheduled to go to trial June 19. It is unclear at this point if the federal ruling will persuade the state court to dismiss that case as well.” -Bryan W. Pease, Attorney

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our work to get chicken Kaporos out of NYC streets. Keep an eye out for upcoming action alerts!

Best,
The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos Team