TAMAP, Fla. — The family of Don Lewis, a Tampa man missing since 1997, announced on Wednesday they filed a defamation lawsuit against Lewis' then-wife Carole Baskin.
The lawsuit also names Carole's husband Howard Baskin and the animal sanctuary they run, Big Cat Rescue, as defendants.
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The family's attorney John Phillips provided the following statement:
On August 7, 2020 my clients filed a lawsuit for information against Carole Baskin, Kenneth Farr and Susan Bradshaw. Defendants requested more information in support of our Pure Bill of Discovery. We have amended that lawsuit and provided over 40 pages of support of the need for discovery, mostly in Carole Baskin’s own words.
Additionally, we have filed a lawsuit for defamation and various breaches against Carole Baskin, Howard Baskin and Big Cat Rescue. Since 1997, Anne McQueen has been the victim of lies by Carole Baskin. Mrs. Baskin even admitted these lies in 1998, apologizing for them in a written statement. She also settled Anne McQueen’s claims for libel and slander at that time, paying $50,000. These exact same false statements, and additional ones, are being made again in 2020. It is malicious. Making matters worse, Howard Baskin is making these same statements publicly, as is Big Cat Rescue. As such, they have been added as Defendants.
