Connecticut Seeks to Dismiss $150M Claim by Chimp Victim

Connecticut’s attorney general is asking a state official to dismiss a claim filed by a woman who was severely disfigured by a chimpanzee in 2009.

Charla Nash, of Stamford, attended Friday’s hearing. She is seeking permission to sue the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for $150 million in damages. She accuses the agency of failing to seize the animal before the mauling, despite a staff member’s warning that it was dangerous.

An assistant attorney general told state Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. that Nash deserves sympathy for her plight, but argued the state is not liable for actions of the privately owned chimp.

Vance has 39 days to rule on the motion to dismiss.