Veterinarian’s Suit Against City Delayed

The jury trial for the defamation lawsuit brought by veterinarian Melvyn Richkind against the city of Los Angeles has been postponed until June 21.

Originally scheduled to begin Monday, the trial was delayed because Richkind and his attorney, Richard Wynne, were injured in separate car accidents.

Wynne suffered a pinched nerve from an accident three weeks ago, and his painkillers have left him unable to conduct a trial this week, he said.

Richkind, who had been expected to testify Monday, was in a collision in the morning that cut his forehead and bruised his nose.

Wynne had asked for a continuance of three to four weeks, but summer was the earliest the court schedule could accommodate the trial.

Wynne and Deputy City Atty. George Lowry said they did not expect the delay to affect the case.

Richkind was the first veterinarian to examine Pal the pug after it was found two years ago with most of its skin torn off. He claims officials from the city Department of Animal Regulation defamed him when they publicly questioned his medical competency after they disagreed with him over the Encino dog’s cause of death.

Animal Regulation officers said the dog had been attacked by a coyote, but Richkind said he believed the dog had been skinned alive by a human.

The veterinarian also claimed the city violated his civil rights when Animal Regulation officers searched his Northridge clinic two years ago.

Last week in a bench trial, Judge Howard J. Schwartz of the San Fernando Superior Court ruled that the search was legal, dealing a blow to Richkind’s lawsuit and partially vindicating Animal Regulation officials.