University loses cat fight over inflated vet bill

The Louisiana State University is on the hook for $20,000 in sanctions plus legal fees after it sent to collections a man’s vet bill that stemmed from a sick stray cat named Hemi who lived for only a few weeks following his visit to the vet. 

The university’s Board of Supervisors through Louisiana State University Veterinarian Hospital filed a suit to recover the $1,244 balance for Hemi’s treatment in 2011, according to court documents filed in a state appeals court in Marskville, Louisiana, earlier this month.

Robert Johnson, the man who rescued Hemi, filed an answer to the lawsuit, claiming he had already paid $4,000 for treatment, which he was told would not cost more than $2,000. He argued instead that he was entitled to a $2,000 reimbursement, according to documents.

A trial court ruled in Mr. Johnson’s favor, imposing sanctions against LSU for $20,000 for what it called a “frivolous lawsuit.” The appeals court affirmed, writing that it agreed with the trial court’s determination “that the pleadings filed by LSU were not warranted by existing law, and moreover were filed for improper purposes of harassment, unnecessary delay, and needlessly increased the costs of litigation.”