Judge Rejects Dismissal Of Alabaster Veterinarian's Lawsuit

ALABASTER, AL — A circuit judge in Shelby County Thursday denied a motion to toss out a former Alabaster veterinarian's lawsuit filed against Banfield Pet Hospital. Dr. Nikki Hamilton-Cox alleged that Banfield engaged in conduct that resulted in damage to her reputation.

Birmingham law firm Sirote & Permutt filed the suit in April on behalf of Dr. Nikki Hamilton-Cox. The suit centers on an incident wherein Hamilton-Cox and her husband, Mark S. Cox, adopted a stray dog that had reportedly been surrendered to the hospital.

The dog's former owner, Elliott "Kurt" Ingram, claimed on social media that Hamilton-Cox stole the dog from him, despite testimony in trial that showed the dog's previous owner and his family allowed the dog to run away at least twice and that Ingram himself had taken the dog in as a stray.

The suit alleges that Banfield acted negligently and also caused Hamilton-Cox's professional and personal reputation to be severely damaged when Banfield suspended her without pay based upon unfounded allegations on social media of her "stealing" the dog.

The allegations eventually resulted in Dr. Hamilton-Cox being charged and arrested in late December of last year on a charge of theft of lost property, based on her and her family having adopted the lost dog some ten months earlier. However, she was totally exonerated on February 5, 2019, when a Shelby County judge ruled she was innocent as a matter of law and dismissed the criminal charges following the presentation of evidence.

Related Story: Vet Accused Of 'Pet-Stealing' Sues Former Employer

Banfield, through its lawyer in the civil case, sought to have the complaint dismissed against it, claiming that the case should end without Dr. Hamilton-Cox being able to obtain documents and testimony from Banfield. Circuit Judge Lara Alvis denied the dismissal.

"Banfield clumsily inserted itself into an ugly social media mob reaction to baseless allegations against our client and we look forward to the next phase of this litigation," said Sirote attorney Jim Sturdivant, who represents Dr. Hamilton-Cox. "We will now employ the civil discovery process – with Banfield under oath – in order to show how this national company mushroomed and extended the social media disparagement and suffering of our client and how they treated a loyal and dedicated veterinary doctor employee of 19 years."

The suit could pave the way for similar suits involving social media and how posts to Facebook, Twitter and the like can be subject to libel and defamation laws.