Couple settles in civil case against man who shot their dog
A civil case involving an Oak Orchard dog that was shot and later died in 2021 has been settled.
Karen and James Sekcienski sued a Dover man in civil court after the man was found not guilty of criminal charges in 2023. Herbert Manley had faced three felonies – cruelty or unnecessarily killing an animal, first-degree reckless endangering and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony – but a Sussex County Superior Court jury found him not guilty on all counts.
The charges were filed after Manley shot the Sekcienskis’ dog, Tank, a chocolate Labrador retriever, not yet 2 years old. The dog suffered injuries to his jaw, and the couple made the decision to put him down because of his suffering, according to testimony in the criminal court case.
The $7,000 settlement is not the ending the couple sought, Sekcienski said, but she is pleased with the precedent that an April 2024 Superior Court order set.
In it, Sussex County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clark denied in part Manley’s motion for summary judgment, stating, “In this case, the Sekcienskis seek punitive damages for [intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct that caused them severe emotional distress] that Mr. Manley allegedly inflicted upon them, not Tank. On this record, the jury must decide if Mr. Manley’s conduct rose to the level of outrageousness necessary to award punitive damages, and if so, it must determine the amount of such damages.”
Sekcienski said the judge’s decision was the most important part of the protracted court battle.
“That is, if someone has their family pet injured by another person, they too can go after that person. That was the biggest reason. It sure wasn’t about the money. It was about Tank not dying in vain,” Karen said.
Following the Sekcienskis’ court cases, Delaware enacted a law that provides for the recovery of veterinary expenses for wrongful harm to a pet. They, however, were not grandfathered, and the Sekcienskis could not benefit from the law.
Melissa Steele is a staff writer covering the state Legislature, government and police. Her newspaper career spans more than 30 years and includes working for the Delaware State News, Burlington County Times, The News Journal, Dover Post and Milford Beacon before coming to the Cape Gazette in 2012. Her work has received numerous awards, most notably a Pulitzer Prize-adjudicated investigative piece, and a runner-up for the MDDC James S. Keat Freedom of Information Award.
