Animal Rights Group Paid Witness To Lie At Trial - Loses Big TIme

$15.75 million will buy a lot of peanuts

Hey y'all: don't pay your witnesses to make things up. That's bad. How bad?

For starters, once it comes to light you'll lose the case. But it doesn't end there. The person you wrongfully sued will like be upset. How upset? Well, the'll probably sue you.

A settlement reached between animal rights groups and the producers of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of making an allegation in federal court that you have trouble backing up.

The Humane Society of the United States and other animal-rights groups have paid Feld Entertainment a combined $15.75 million to settle allegations by the company that the groups and their lawyers bribed a former circus employee to make up allegations that Feld abused Asian elephants in its circus.

So to recap: The Humane Society lost the original case and had to pay Ringling Bros. attorneys' fees for just that case. Then, Ringling Bros. sued The Humane Society for the whole "paying the witness to lie" thing, which just cost The Humane Society and some other related animal rights groups a total of $15.75 million.

Next time someone from PETA or The Humane Society asks you for money, you can just tell them No thanks bro, I've already given some money to Ringling Bros.