Torts, Animals, Seizure of Mistreated Animals, Post-Seizure Hearing Required, 1, 1
Under Penal Code 597.1, specified public officers may, with or without a search warrant, seize animals that are without proper care and attention or being cruelly treated. However, the statute requires that the seized animals’ owner be given a post-seizure administrative hearing at which to contest the seizure. Here, the seizing officers didn’t give the owner the required post-seizure hearing. This decision holds that the owner can state a negligence claim against the seizing officers, invoking the statute as a negligence per se standard of care. Because they did not act in compliance with the statute, the seizing officers are also not entitled to a qualified immunity defense.