MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The City of Trenton will pay $200,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by former Trenton Animal Shelter volunteers who said they were banned for speaking out about conditions there.
The Trenton City Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday, approving the settlement in Guiliana Marrazzo v. City of Trenton, et al. The case was filed in Mercer County Superior Court in November 2024.
The settlement includes costs and attorney's fees. The resolution says it is not an admission of liability. The City Attorney recommended the deal, saying it was in the city's best interest, according to the resolution.
The money will come from the city's 2026 General Liability Self-Insurance Fund. The resolution authorizes the city treasurer to issue a payment to the Law Firm of Donald F. Burke and Marrazzo.
What The Lawsuit Alleged
Marrazzo and four other former volunteers - Steve Clegg, Christine Mathews, Melinda Messineo and April James, filed the suit on Nov. 28, 2024.
They said they were fired from their volunteer roles and barred from the shelter after raising concerns with shelter management, city officials and the media. The complaint said this was retaliation for their speech and violated the New Jersey Constitution and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act.
The complaint also alleged the city blocked public access to the shelter, which state regulations require at specified times.
The volunteers described what they said they saw at the shelter. They alleged dogs were left in dirty kennels, had no water at times and were not always fed or medicated properly. They also alleged that kennel cards were mislabeled, which they said put volunteers at risk. The complaint said staff did not act on their reports.
Marrazzo alleged that she was told "snitches gets stitches" and received a threatening Facebook message from an animal control officer after she posted that an officer was a backyard breeder. Clegg alleged he was turned away from the shelter on Jan. 14, 2024, when he tried to check the shelter log and take photos, and that police were called.
The volunteers said their comments were made "in their own time, on their own behalf," and that none were "obscene, profane, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate in any way."
The suit named the city, Mayor W. Reed Gusciora, and several city health officials and shelter employees. It named them in both their individual and official capacities. It also named unidentified "John Doe" defendants. It sought compensatory and punitive damages, legal fees and a court order lifting the bans.
The complaint said the shelter was run by Trenton Animals Rock under a contract until the council rejected a contract extension in April 2022. After that, the complaint said, the city's four full-time animal control officers took over the shelter's duties.
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