Library Cat Attack Turns Into Hate Crime Battle
Espinosa Claims City Never Properly Responded To His Disability
SAN DIEGO -- A hate crime allegation was filed in a $1.5 million lawsuit against the city of Escondido by a man claiming his civil rights were violated when his assistance dog, Kimba, was attacked by a cat in a public library.
Richard Espinosa (pictured, left) filed the original suit Nov. 11, after the city refused to pay his claim over the incident involving the feline "mascot" at the South Kalmia Street library.
The 14-page amended court document, filed Thursday, supplements a list of alleged civil rights and code violations already enumerated against the city in the original complaint.
According to documents filed in support of Espinosa's lawsuit, he suffers from several disabilities, including permanent back disability, chronic pain syndrome, borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder, decreased lung function and panic disorder.
As Espinosa, then a North County Times reporter, entered the library on Nov. 16, 2000, he "was surprised to see a black and white cat (pictured, right) on the counter," his petition states.
"The cat, subsequently identified as L.C., which stands for Library Cat ... jumped to the floor without provocation (and) began clawing Espinosa's assistance dog, at times with all four paws," Espinosa said.
"The terror of the sudden and malicious attack" triggered a panic attack that continues to haunt him, Espinosa said.
As a member of a protected disabled class, the 47-year-old said he expected a proper response from the city, which he never got.
"The government will have to pay, and the taxpayers are going to have to pay this," Espinosa said.
"The money is not the biggest issue in this, (but) it's important the city pay for its wrongs. It's the attitude of government over the rights of the citizen. The individual citizen has more rights than the government," Espinosa said.
Espinosa, who is representing himself, cited the "unique" issues of this case as the reason why attorneys don't handle such complaints.
Espinosa has expressed the hope that his lawsuit will educate the public about the state of the law regarding those with "hidden disabilities."
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