South Huntingdon animal shelter founder gets jail time for contempt
A Westmoreland County judge ordered the founder of a South Huntingdon pet shelter to serve 10 days in jail after finding her in contempt of court for the continued harassment of staff and visitors at the Pet Adoption League in Yukon.
Common Pleas Court Judge Richard E. McCormick Jr., in an order filed this week, ruled that Barbara Flanigan, 68, violated terms of a 2014 court order that prohibited her from participating in disruptive or harassing behavior.
Flanigan was ordered to serve her sentence at Westmoreland County Prison starting June 5. The judge also ordered her to pay $2,000 to the Pet Adoption League for legal fees the shelter accrued during the contempt hearing.
Flanigan founded the shelter in 1991 but was ousted from a leadership role in the agency by its board of directors in 2013. The shelter operates on property owned by Flanigan under terms of a 99-year lease signed in 2001 that requires it pay her $1 annually for rent.
Flanigan on Friday said she did not harass shelter workers or violate the court order.
“All I want is for them to leave the property. There will never be peace here,” Flanigan said.
McCormick conducted a day-long hearing in January in which Pet Adoption League staff and other visitors testified Flanigan harassed and threatened them multiple times over the previous year.
Ashley Lovelace, the attorney for the Pet Adoption League, in her written closing argument filed last month wrote that Flanigan should be ordered to serve six months in jail.
“Defendant has repeatedly proven that she is absolutely unwilling to adhere to this honorable court's orders, having violated the most recent order of court within two weeks. Defendant has made it abundantly clear that she will not ever stop her behavior at the subject property,” Lovelace wrote.
Flanigan's attorney, Charles Fox, in court documents filed last month argued that his client's behavior did not warrant jail time because she is mentally ill and suggested a better remedy for the dispute would be a civil lawsuit.
“Ms. Flanigan's actions although admittedly odd and are maybe due to her diagnosed mental illness, nevertheless are a free expression of her rights as a property owner,” Fox wrote.
The judge previously found Flanigan in contempt of court in 2016. At that time, he fined her $1,000 and ordered she pay the shelter's $1,500 legal fees.
Fox said Friday he likely would ask the judge to consider his ruling but has not decided whether to file an appeal to the state's Superior Court.
A separate legal case in which Flanigan is seeking to have the Pet Adoption League evicted from her property is ongoing.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
