Trial over cat and dog fight starts today

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | Monday, January 26, 2004 9:32 PM PST ∞

Call it the case of the clawing cat.

Jury selection is slated to begin today in a $1.5 million lawsuit a man with disabilities filed against the city of Escondido after a cat living in a city library attacked his assistance dog in 2000.

Richard Ramon "Rik" Espinosa, acting as his own attorney, is suing the city for damages over the Nov. 16, 2000, incident. Espinosa alleges in the lawsuit that he has several disabilities, including major depressive and panic disorders.

The issue to go before the jury is whether Espinosa had the same right to enter and use the library as anyone else, whether the city denied his right to have his assistance dog with him, and whether the city interfered with his admittance to and enjoyment of the library.

Espinosa is a former North County Times staff writer who had gone to the library on assignment the day the cat, named "L.C." for "Library Cat," is said to have attacked his dog Kimba.

The city does not dispute that Espinosa has disabilities, that his dog helps him with his disabilities or that the cat scratched the dog, Escondido City Attorney Steven Nelson said Monday.

"The key issue for us is we don't think that the cat scratching the dog is disability discrimination," Nelson said Monday. "The cat didn't prevent his access, it delayed his access."

That delay, the city attorney said, is akin to the type of delay one faces by going up a wheelchair ramp, instead of bounding up the stairs.

The actual damages ---- lost wages, trips to the vet and to Espinosa's doctor ---- tally up to about $325. Nelson said the city offered up two settlements, including one for $1,500, but Espinosa refused.

"The city sees it as a dog and cat fight," Espinosa said. "The crux of this issue isn't the dog and cat fight. That's two percent of this. The cat was a barrier to my access, and the city has circled the wagons around the cat."

And that's what is dogging Espinosa.

"The city is unrepentant," Espinosa said. "They are violating the rights of people allergic to cats."

Now, it's a jury's turn to hear the tale. The trial itself is slated to last for about four days.

It's been more than three years since the attack, which happened when Espinosa headed into the Escondido city library to do a little work before heading back to his office at the North County Times.

Espinosa had taken his certified assistance dog, Kimba, with him, since she helps calm him and keep one of his disabilities, panic attacks, at bay.

Enter L.C., Library Cat, who used to roam the shelves at will.

L.C., it seems, didn't take kindly to Kimba. The cat yawned, stretched, jumped off its perch and swatted Kimba on the nose.

Not just a swat, Espinosa said. The feline attacked Kimba, a 55-pound female Labrador mix, digging her claws into the dog's face and drawing blood, he said.

Espinosa says he's allergic to cats and couldn't risk pulling 12-pound L.C. off Kimba. So, the man said, he dragged his dog backward, injuring his own back and suffering a panic attack in the process.

Espinosa's throat tightens and his voice shakes when he recalls the details of the "mauling." He points out scars on Kimba's furry face.

Also hard to handle, he said, is that everyone has laughed about his "wuss dog that got beat up by a cat."

Before the jury hears word one of the trial, there are still 29 pieces of evidence that the two sides are wrangling over.

Among the items that Espinosa wants the jury to see is a photograph of him with boxer Muhammad Ali. Nelson said the picture is not relevant to the case; Espinosa said the photo gives him credibility.

It also strengthens his argument, Espinosa said, since he believes the cat is like the famed pugilist: a tiger in the ring, a pussycat outside of it. L.C.'s ring, the Palomar Mountain resident said, was the library on South Kalmia Street.

At the court's urging, Espinosa has scaled back his original list of 117 witnesses to just 20, including the city mayor, Nelson said.

The cat was removed from the library in May 2001 after it attacked another dog. North County Times' archives show that was at least L.C.'s third attack on another animal.

Two years before swatting Kimba, the cat jumped on a Schnauzer named Toto, a dog nearly twice the cat's size, according to news reports. The cat allegedly jumped off the check-out counter, ran out the doors and pounced on the dog, which was on a leash. The dog panicked and his owner, an 11-year-old girl, burst into tears, witnesses said then.

"They knew she had a propensity for attacking animals," Espinosa said of L.C. "They kept her there. They set up the whole scene."

L.C., a black feline with white paws and whiskers, lived at the home of a library staff member until it died in October 2003.

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-3517 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.