Robinsons seek $100,000 in damages, will ask judge to drop cruelty charges

CHESTERVILLE — David and Marilyn Robinson have yet to learn if a judge will allow their defamation lawsuit against the Ontario Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) to go to trial.

The Robinsons are seeking $100,000 in damages.

The Robinsons’ lawsuit stems from a letter to the editor by OSPCA chief inspector Connie Mallory, published in Farmers Forum in July 2011.

The Robinsons’ lawyer, Kurtis Andrews, argues that the OSPCA letter to the editor implied that the Robinsons were guilty of animal cruelty.

"They deserve to have their case decided in court, not in the press," he argues.

The Robinsons are facing 12 animal cruelty charges. All charges were slapped on the couple by the OSPCA. The next court appearance is in Cornwall on June 12. Andrews said he will ask the judge to drop the charges. This is an odd case in which two of three veterinarians said some of the animals were old but not malnourished.

If convicted in the animal cruelty case, the Robinsons face up to $720,000 in fines and possible jail time.