PAWSHANK REDEMPTION: $125,000 settlement reached in government's multi-year legal battle against tabby cat

A woman in Bellevue, Washington received a $125,000 settlement after a drawn out legal battle involving her tabby cat Miska, who was targeted by the city and county.

The infamous cat was at the center of a purr-fect storm of legal hiss-ues surrounding a government agency's prosecution of a family's cat and its owner, costing King County tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

"Miska was the most prosecuted cat in Bellevue and in King County, probably in the state of Washington," Jon Zimmerman, cat owner Anna Danieli's attorney told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI.

Zimmerman took the case in 2017. By then, Danieli had accrued over $30,000 in fines. Zimmerman added, "Adjacent neighbors had complained against Miska for alleged trespassing, for alleged taunting of other pets…a cat taunting...can you believe it? I mean, birds fly, right?"

"We soon discovered that Miska had been confined to the King County jail, or as I call it Guna-tabby-mo Bay, and the county didn’t want to release her…there had been two prosecutors assigned to the case. A lot of humans only get one prosecutor," Zimmerman continued.

Danieli alleged governmental overreach because of ongoing prosecution of her and her cat over several years by the City of Bellevue, King County, Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC), the King County Hearing Examiner, Gene Mueller (the RASKC Manager), and Tim Anderson, Lead Field Sergeant for RASKC.

Zimmerman told Hoffman, "The county indicated to me that Miska was a known 'terror cat' and this made me wonder is Miska a member of Al-Cat-a."

Bellevue is not a "right to roam" city, meaning that owners can be held liable for damage done by their cats outside the confines of their property.

Zimmerman wondered who had something against the cat and it turned out to be Danieli’s neighbor, who was head of animal control, and was filing his own complaints against Miska and pushing them through the system.

Miska has been in an out of the "pen" since 2014. According to her attorneys, she was detained in "kitty jail" for allegedly trespassing, harming rabbits, chickens, ducks, and other neighborhood animals. Miska later received a "confinement order," essentially house arrest, requiring that her owner keep her in a fenced area secured "…with a padlock to prevent accidental release," or leashed when outside the confines of her property.

Hoffman pointed out that most families do not have the resources to fight a case like this if targeted by a city or county.

Danieli's lawsuit asked a Pierce County judge to void Miska's violations and to keep RASKC from prosecuting Miska in front of the King County Hearing Examiner. The suit asked that RASKC's determination that Miska is "vicious" be voided, as well as any removal orders by the former or acting RASKC manager.

Zimmerman told Hoffman, "The city and county actually made a federal case out of Miska before a federal judge…threw the case back down to superior court."

The parties eventually settled out of court which according to Zimmerman made Miska, "…the richest cat in the state of Washington."

Zimmerman hopes the lawsuit will lead to more transparency for pet owners about who is filing the complaints against their animals. Zimmerman also uncovered issues within Bellevue's city code, that the citations didn't match up with the law, and now that a settlement is reached, is advocating for policy changes.

Hoffman replied, "Well with a $125,000 settlement we have for sure experienced the Paw-shank Redemption."