EMERSON — The borough of Emerson was correct in denying the owner of a pet store a license to continue operating his Just Pups location, a Superior Court judge ruled last week.
The borough denied Just Pups and its owner, Vincent LoSacco, a license over the summer after a number of people, including an animal control officer with the borough and an environmental health specialist, spoke at a council meeting about the conditions of Just Pups animals.
LoSacco continued to operate the Emerson store after his license expired.
LoSacco was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after police allegedly found more than 60 puppies unattended outside his Paramus store. The state later dropped the animal cruelty charges in a plea deal.
LoSacco argued in court that Emerson didn’t have the authority to hold such a hearing and that the borough should have awarded him a license.
Bergen County Superior Court Judge Lisa Perez wrote in a 26-page decision that the borough “has authority to deny or revoke a license.”
LoSacco’s attorney didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Emerson Mayor Lou Lamatina posted on Facebook that he was “pleased to report” the court’s decision and thanked several town officials and the public “for their support and assistance throughout this arduous process.”
“The borough did the right thing,” said Robert Hoffman, attorney for the borough. “We upheld the law and we’re confident that we did the right thing.”
Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
