TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on Jan 25, 2024

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and two of its top employees have been ordered to pay $485,000 to a family after a jury found that the office unlawfully seized nearly 50 beef cattle from their Chapel Hill farm. The sheriff's office took the action after the couple was accused of animal cruelty, reports the Tennessean. The jury also found the office unlawfully forced a family member to escort the officers to the farm. According to documents filed in the lawsuit, the sheriff’s office routinely did not obtain warrants for accusations of animal cruelty for at least five years before the lawsuit. In some cases, the office sold the cattle for a profit according to a deposition by the county sheriff. The couple recently located to another county.