Fairfax City Petland Lawsuit and Countersuit Both Thrown Out of Court

by Jennifer van der Kleut

Dueling lawsuits filed by the general manager of the Fairfax City Petland store and a man who bought a dog that died 13 days later were thrown out of court Wednesday, but the judge said the suits could be amended and filed again.

READ: Another Fairfax City Petland Dog Dies - Yet This Time, Customer is Being Sued

Fairfax City Petland’s general manager, Kareem Koshok, filed the lawsuit against Kevin Mulcahy, claiming he owed money on a Maltese puppy named Ty, who died shortly after being purchased from the store.

Mulcahy, in turn, sued Koshok for the deposit back he had put down for the dog, saying that Petland sold him a puppy the store knew or should have known was sick.

Because the Fairfax City Petland is owned by a parent corporation Kareem and his brother Ayman Koshok started, the suit needed to be filed under the corporation’s name, Judge Thomas Gallahue ruled.

He threw out Mulcahy’s countersuit at the same time.

The judge told both parties they could refile under the proper names later, but also encouraged them to try and settle the matter out of court.

In testimony before the ruling, Mulcahy represented himself. Both Koshok and his brother, Ayman Koshok, testified on the stand.

Early on in Ayman’s and Kareem’s testimonies, both referenced conversations they had with Mulcahy about the care of Ty the puppy once it became clear Ty was sick - leading Mulcahy to point out that the testimony was in direct contradiction of what Kareem told Patch.

In an interview with Patch last month, general manager Kareem Koshok told Patch that he had no contact with Mulcahy in between his purchase of Ty and the day Ty died, and that he strongly believed Mulcahy bought the dog and then neglected it, leading to the dog to die of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Kareem told Patch, “If he had called me, I would have helped him. But he neglected that dog, and he killed it.”

Ty’s death is the second publicized death of a puppy after being purchased from Fairfax City Petland in recent months. In another case in August, a dachsund puppy named Snoopy died of parvovirus, a deadly virus that attacks an animal’s digestive system, just 36 hours after being brought home, despite the puppy being given a “clean bill of health” by the store’s consulting veterinarian, just as Ty had been given.

READ: Puppy Purchased From Fairfax City Petland Dies From Parvovirus

WJLA reported earlier this week that the family that purchased Snoopy has been given a refund by Petland.