Rockland Green sues former Hi-Tor animal shelter operators for $5M over contract breach

NEW CITY — The operator of Rockland's countywide animal shelter has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Hi-Tor Animal Center's former executive director and board.

The legal action filed in New York State Supreme Court comes about eight months after Rockland Green dismissed the Hi-Tor board and Executive Director Richard Tannenbaum.

Rockland Green claims in its lawsuit that the former Hi-Tor board and its executive director breached their contract, including failure to properly care for the animals, hire enough staff and maintain records, and provide requested documents and contracted services.

When Rockland Green fired the board in September, officials cited multiple contract violations, such as withholding information about a potentially fatal disease infecting cats and not properly staffing the 60-year-old facility.

The Rockland Green board hired Four Legs Good, a nonprofit cat rescue group, to run the shelter, located next to the Rockland Fire Training Center in Ramapo.

The agency, under Rockland Solid Waste Management Authority, aka Rockland Green, filed the 59-page lawsuit on May 10 in the New York State Supreme Court in New City. The legal action names Tannenbaum and board members Sharon Bailey, Deborah DiBernardo, Helen Allen, Gary Kogut, and Kim Von Heim.

Tannenbaum, who helped negotiate Hi-Tor's contract with Rockland Green, didn't respond to an email seeking comment. The former board members could not be immediately reached. Tannenbaum, an attorney and real estate agent, had been hired by the board in January 2023 and fired on Sept. 1, apparently over policy disagreements.

At the time Rockland Green changed leadership to Four Legs Good, Tannenbaum challenged Rockland Green's claims in an article for a local business publication run by his spouse and for which he has a business role. He countered that Rockland Green violated the contract with Hi-Tor and with the law by not telling Hi-Tor about the contract issues or giving enough time to correct any problems cited.

The 60-year-old shelter's name has been changed to Rockland Green Cares with the sub title Rockland Green Center for Animal Rescue and Education Services.

Rockland Green had provided Tannenbaum and the Hi-Tor Board with a $1.4 million annual budget as part of a two-year contract for the care of hundreds of stray dogs, cats, and other animals, and the repair of the 60-year-old shelter.

Lawsuit claims shelter did not properly care for animals

Rockland Green's lawsuit claims Tannenbaum failed to produce records about shelter operations that Rockland Green needed.

The care of the animals, predominately cats and dogs, was cited in the lawsuit.

A May 2023 report from the New York State Animal Protection Federation called the care the "worst example of animal sheltering that the consultants have ever seen," according to the lawsuit.

"It appears to be like visiting a large cruelty case in process," the report stated, according to the lawsuit. "It was a very wise move for Rockland County to make plans to eradicate the current organization and practices and establish a new state-of-the-art shelter with state-of-the-art practices.”

Rockland Green's lawsuit also cites reports by the Catskill Veterinarian Services that the shelter lacked "enough staff to handle the needs of the animals and that the staff had admitted that it can be much longer than 6 hours until cats are attended to, meaning provided food, water, cages cleaned, etc."

A July 15, 2023, report stated the shelter did not always have the necessary medication for sick cats. The report noted that at least three cats were eligible for vaccination but had not been vaccinated. A Hi-Tor board member had denied that claim.

Rockland Green officials said the contract-breaker with Hi-Tor came when the operator didn't disclose an outbreak of feline panleukopenia, a highly contagious, often fatal, viral disease of cats. Kittens died from the disease shortly after they arrived at the shelter.

New animal shelter moves ahead in Haverstraw

Rockland Green, a public authority comprising the five town supervisors, several legislators, and the County Executive's Office, took over the shelter planning last year.

The change occurred when some Rockland legislators balked at financing the new shelter after the projected cost jumped from $8 million to $20 million due to rising costs for construction and other economic factors.

For the new shelter on Beach Road in Haverstraw, Rockland Green signed a lease-buy agreement with the warehouse owner in early 2024 and expects the facility to open in early 2025.

The Hi-Tor defendants have not responded to the lawsuit and a judge has not yet been chosen, according to the New York State Uniformed Court System website. Rockland Green's attorney, Lawrence Garvey, is asking for a jury trial.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal

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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland Green sues former Hi-Tor animal shelter operators for $5M