Activist dismisses defamation suit
The attorney representing an animal-rights activist who once ran a rescue shelter in Burbank dropped her 10-party defamation lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.
The lawsuit brought by Kimi Peck, director of Chihuahua Rescue — which she relocated to Tehachapi after a court order forced her to close the Burbank shelter — alleged that some of her former volunteers had launched a smear campaign that has damaged her business reputation.
Attorney Larry Rudd, who represented the 10 defendants named in the suit, said that he turned away attempts from Peck's attorney, Theresa Macellaro, to negotiate a settlement and then learned shortly thereafter that the case had been dropped.
"This was just another attempt to harass people by Kimi Peck," Rudd said.
"I don't know what her next step will be, but my guess is that she will be trying to find another way to file a suit or do something — because this is just a person who does not take no for an answer and just tries to abuse the system."
Peck grabbed headlines in 2003 when she saved 170 Chihuahuas from being euthanized after Los Angeles County animal control officials confiscated the dogs from breeder Emma Harter.
Harter was subsequently convicted of animal abuse for housing 235 Chihuahuas in unsanitary conditions.
But two years later, Peck found herself the target of accusations from volunteers at her own shelter, which ultimately drove her from Burbank.
