Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Woodley
North Carolina Court of Appeals
181 N.C. App. 594, 640 S.E.2d 777 (2007)
- Written by Kyli Cotten, JD
Facts
Barbara and Robert Woodley (defendants) owned many dogs and some birds on their property. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) (plaintiff) determined that the conditions on the property were poorly kept and that the animals were subject to cruel treatment. The ALDF then filed a complaint against the Woodleys pursuant to North Carolina’s animal-cruelty statute, seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions for the forfeiture of their rights to possess the animals. After reviewing the evidence and visiting the property, the trial court granted a preliminary injunction, mandating that the Woodleys properly maintain areas where the animals were kept and allowing the ALDF’s workers to enter the property to administer care to the animals. Following a bench trial, the trial court entered a permanent injunction, divesting the Woodleys of all rights to possess the animals and an order granting temporary custody of the animals to the ALDF. On appeal, the Woodleys argued that the statute was unconstitutional because it grants standing to persons who have not incurred an injury in contravention to the North Carolina Constitution.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Elmore, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.