What is YOUR decision about this matter?

Here is what Ebony, a black cat living next door, and who also is a lawyer, had to say:

Persi was sitting on his throne just minding his own business, watching the girls arrive for school. Lee was sitting in a couch next to Persi's throne and he reached for his coffee and in doing so, knocked over a beautiful Persian statue, it smashed into thousands of pieces when it hit the hard wood floor. At that instant in time, Lee looked up and noticed Persi was in the area and screamed PERSI! It so happened that at that time, Lee's wife came running down the stairs from upstairs to see what had broke. Persi made the mistake of running upstairs when he heard the smash plus his mom coming fast and furious. Lee said nothing more, returned to reading his paper while his DW (Sheri) took care of the mess. Later Sheri could be heard yelling "Bad Cat!"

Your honor, Persi is suing Lee for a thousand dollars for false accusations and defamation of character.

Here is what Alley Cat Esq., who was defending Lee had to say: Your honor I move this case be dismissed immediately. Looking at the transcript you can see that Lee never once even insinuated that Persi did anything wrong much less blame him for the accident. As far as yelling PERSI! is concerned, Lee does that several times a day. Just check the transcripts and you will see that not once does Lee in any way try to push the blame onto Persi.

Judge: I am going to dismiss the jury but you must be judged by your own peers. So put this on TCS and see what your peers with cats have to say about your action and I will then make a decision.

I would dismiss the case against Persi. Persi obviously was an innocent bystander and unjustly accused of a horrendous crime. In the case of Persi v. Lee, Fatman GiGi and Hercules all are in favor of Persi!!!

I think Lee must confess. Persi has been wrongfully accused. We don't want to have to bring in DNA evidence. Lee may have to serve some time (I'd like to think he'll get out early for good behavior, but who knows?), if not in the Big House then in the Dog House, but it will an appropriate sentence considering that Persi requires restitution.

Indeed Persi should counter-sue for defamation of character for the sum of one million dollars.

Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

Indeed Persi should counter-sue for defamation of character for the sum of one million dollars.

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Or even better, one million cat treats!

One million cat treats AND one million cuddles, to be administered at Persi's request!! It's only fair! Poor Persi, to be so unjustly accused!

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go with Persi on this one. And, I'm also moving this from civil court to criminal court per Persi's request.

It is clear that by Lee not correcting Sheri when she scolded Persi by stating "bad cat" that he was negligent. I do believe Lee had good intentions, but we are very rarely judged on our intentions -- we are judged on our actions. And, by not correcting Sheri, Lee acted against Persi and thus should be convicted of defamation of character.

As far as sentencing is concerned, I think a deferred sentence of 2-5 years is appropriate for the crime. However, since Lee was good intentioned, instead of serving that time in jail, he is sentenced to community service. His main service? To cater to Persi's every whim or desire. Should he fail to meet Persi's needs (or, rather, wants) he shall be removed from the home and ordered to prison. In this case, prison should now be referred to as the "dog house." Persi then, by default, would take over head of household and further his campaign towards world domination .

I also believe a public apology, a la Tiger Woods, would be most appropriate .

No,no,NO! It should be Lee's wife bound over for negligence! Surely she has witnessed Lee trying to set up Persi before this incident!! She should be questioned extensively....

Dismissed - simply because Lee was more concerned that Persi would not cut himself and wanted to warn him to be careful. BUT Persi may have gotten the idea that he was to blame and that's why he's suing for defirmation of character.

Since Lee never once said "Persi look what you did now" - then Persi really doesn't have a case against Lee.

I suggest that in the future, all breakable objects be secured by glue or other methods to the surface so this prevents future accidents.

We live in a society that is FAR too litigious, and if Persi (questionably wrongly accused) did not accrue any medical bills stemming directly from the incident, we should not award him money.

Now, whether or not Persi WAS wrongly accused, I think Lee owes him some extra love and attention for a sentence of 6 months, because clearly he either (a) wrongly accused Persi, or (b) scared Persi, neither of which should go unnoticed.

Oh, I almost forgot - Sheri also owes Persi some extra love and attention for calling him a bad cat.

I'm not awake enough or clever enough to add anything cogent, but I just want to say LOL!

I spoke to Danny and we both side with Persi on this issue. Danny also pointed out that the destruction of a statuette of a long-haired kitty could be construed as a threat towards Persi. We believe that Persi should ammend his suit to include damages for the "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and try for the maxium penalty in his state.

What? None of you blame your cats when you do something wrong?!?!?!? What happens when you (ahem) pass gas? Isn't it your cat that does that every last time?

Lee is clearly guilty here, and ruined his chances of getting out of the lawsuit by admitting his guilt on this forum. His punishment? A year of feeding steak from a spoon to Persi, at the dining room table.

(Persi really likes steak)

My girls say that Lee is the guilty one in the matter. Persi happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They also wonder why Shari would jump to conclusions in her blaming Persi of the act. They sentence both Lee and Shari to spoil Persi for a period of 2 weeks with his favorite treats and food.

They wonder why such a nice statue would be precariously placed where anyone's tail or body could accidentally knock it over in the first place. Clearly the humans were to blame for the statue being broken.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

What? None of you blame your cats when you do something wrong?!?!?!? What happens when you (ahem) pass gas? Isn't it your cat that does that every last time?

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My human family members LOVE to blame the farts on their poor, unsuspecting dogs/cats. And the kids aren't able to defend themselves...

Originally Posted by Catfriend

We believe that Persi should ammend his suit to include damages for the "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and try for the maxium penalty in his state.

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My God! Wait, we live in Texas! Before saying anything so rash I want you to know that Texas puts to death more people than all other states together. This is a fact you can easily confirm with Wiki. I am sure you did not notice they lived in Texas.

Alley Cat, Esq.

Originally Posted by Persi & Alley

My God! Wait, we live in Texas! Before saying anything so rash I want you to know that Texas puts to death more people than all other states together. This is a fact you can easily confirm with Wiki. I am sure you did not notice they lived in Texas.

Alley Cat, Esq.

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Dear me, no! Danny considers that much too harsh a punishment. He meant only the maximum fine in terms of treats!

In addition to *all* of the aforementioned punishments, for allowing Persi's image and good reputation be so tarnished, thus giving all cats a bad rep, Lee should receive the additional punishment of receiving no kisses from his wife or Persi, as well as being on kitty litter duty for a month!



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Originally Posted by Shanynne

In addition to *all* of the aforementioned punishments, for allowing Persi's image and good reputation be so tarnished, thus giving all cats a bad rep, Lee should receive the additional punishment of receiving no kisses from his wife or Persi, as well as being on kitty litter duty for a month!

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indeed, and furthermore, Lee should be sentenced to at least one additional week in the dog house for sitting and reading his paper while his wife cleaned up the mess.

Sorry, Gracie and Casey and Me side with Persi on this. Not only did Lee not only not say anything and therefore imply that Persi was guilty, but he did not correct his wife when she said "Bad Cat!" Therefore, I think the judgement should go to Persi and he should ask for a zillion cat treats.