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Residents trying to block kennel with their lawsuit
Staff Writer Residents living near the proposed site of a 600-dog breeding kennel in rural Little Falls have filed a lawsuit to block the facility.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by Roger and Deborah Nelson and Jeremy and Sara Dickmann, claims Morrison County commissioners failed to order an environmental assessment of the proposed kennel site when on Jan. 10 they approved the conditional-use permit for the kennel to Gary McDuffee.
In the lawsuit, the Nelsons and the Dickmanns also seek to stop McDuffee from building the dog breeding kennel because it would be a nuisance.
Defendants in the lawsuit are Morrison County, McDuffee and Harvey and Donna Block, who are selling the land to McDuffee.
"This case has probably galvanized more concern among dog owners than any case I've had in the last few years, and I've had a lot of dog cases," said Marshall Tanick, the Minneapolis-based attorney representing the Nelsons and Dickmanns.
"This lawsuit has some profound implications, not just for people in the Little Falls area," he said. "There's been growth of what we view as puppy mills around the state and we feel that this case may set a precedent on how other government bodies ... deal with these situations in the future."
Separate from the lawsuit, Tanick said the Nelsons and Dickmanns plan to ask Morrison County commissioners to rescind the conditional-use permit granted to McDuffee. He also said he anticipates the lawsuit will expand once more information becomes available.
Morrison County Administrator Tim Houle said having a third party at the district court level review the issues surrounding the dog kennel would be the best way to have the controversy resolved.
"If we've done something incorrectly we'll correct it. If not then maybe there wasn't as much to it," Houle said. "This is the process that's called for in law if someone doesn't like the board's decision. We certainly don't bear any malice toward the people who brought the lawsuit."
Houle said because the lawsuit has been filed he doubted commissioners would rescind the conditional-use permit.
Morrison County, the Blocks and McDuffee have 45 days to respond to the allegations made in the lawsuit.
McDuffee did not return a phone message left by the Dispatch on Thursday.
The Dickmanns could not be reached for comment. The Nelsons declined to comment on the lawsuit, directing questions to Tanick.
McDuffee's proposed dog kennel would be located on a 40-acre parcel southwest of the Belle Prairie Town Hall off Morrison County Road 263. McDuffee plans to breed toy, miniature dogs, such as cocker spaniels and Yorkshire terriers for sale throughout the country. McDuffee intends to start construction of the dog kennel this spring.
The county board has heard from animal activists from around the country who are opposed to McDuffee's dog kennel and the dog kennel he used to own, Happy Tails Kennel near Randall on Highway 10. An Internet campaign opposed to the kennels also has been launched.
The Morrison County Board Tuesday unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on granting conditional-use permits for commercial dog breeding kennels. The moratorium is on new permits only and does not apply to McDuffee.
MATT ERICKSON can be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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