alene
Bio
Hi! I run Legal Impact for Chickens (LIC).
How others can help me
📈🐥❤️ Do you invest in stocks? Ever done mission hedging? LIC needs your help!
LIC is looking for someone who (already) owns stock in a meat or egg company.
Even a fraction of a share would work. Learn more: legalimpactforchickens.org/investors
Why? As partial owners of corporations, shareholders have some power to protect the corporation’s interests. For example, when an investigation revealed mistreatment of Costco’s birds, two shareholders stepped into Costco’s shoes and sued Costco’s executives for making the company violate state animal neglect laws.
Note: This could arguably be considered nonprofit attorney advertising. To clarify, though, we represent our clients for FREE. From, Legal Impact for Chickens, 2108 N Street, # 5239, Sacramento CA 95816-5712. 📈🐥❤️
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Impact Markets Profile: https://app.impactmarkets.io/profile/clfvvw82d001ioppuuizzy7x3
Posts 22
Comments102
In 2025, a California court recognized Legal Impact for Chickens's power to sue an agriculture company for cruelty.
2025 saw developments in nonprofits’ ability to use civil litigation to stop illegal animal cruelty in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and California.
Most notably, in 2025, California courts clarified the power of societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals (SPCAs) to enforce laws relating to animals. This should have a major effect on compliance with the state’s cruelty laws.
One of the relevant lawsuits, LIC v. Alexandre, was brought by the EA-aligned nonprofit I run, Legal Impact for Chickens (LIC). So, naturally, that's the case I want to highlight:
Legal Impact for Chickens v. Alexandre Family Farm, LLC, No. CV2401841, 2025 WL 1928044 (Cal.Super. May 30, 2025)
In LIC v. Alexandre, a California judge allowed a farmed-animal cruelty lawsuit to proceed in civil court. LIC, an SPCA, sued a dairy company for alleged cruelty (pouring salt in cows’ eyes, dragging downed cows, and starvation). The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case. The defendants argued that LIC has no power to enforce the cruelty law. Happily, California's Humboldt County Superior Court rejected the defendants' argument and allowed the case to proceed! The court held that LIC stated valid causes of action for injunctive and declaratory relief under California Corporations Code sections 10404 and 14502. Importantly, the court ruling means that an SPCA like LIC can directly sue agricultural companies for cruelty, with no special standing barriers.
The defendant dairy company sought appellate review via a petition for writ of mandate. The appellate court denied this writ, allowing the lower-court ruling to stand and case to proceed. ❤️
Before reading this, I would have believed it was the job of the top executive officer (e.g. an ED, CEO, president, etc.) to set the org's agenda. It sounds like that's what you're currently doing at your org. That would seem right to me. And I THINK I still believe that? Although you're making me question it.
You say, "I, as the founder, have a lot of control—but not a clean mandate, not an explicit delegation." To me, you having a lot of control sounds right. But you lacking a clean mandate would seem like a problem to me. I'd think you should ask the board to give you "a clean mandate" and "explicit delegation" to make these kinds of strategy and goal decisions. E.g. write up some kind of document for the board to sign officially delegating that power to you.
THAT SAID, your post is pointing out that all nonprofits are different and so we shouldn't assume the same thing is best for all of them. So now, I guess, I don't know! Maybe at your organization, it is somehow right for the top executive officer NOT to have a clean mandate and explicit delegation?
I'm just thinking, in my limited life experience, things seem to go best if there is ONE person who cares a lot, is very focused, and works hard to make things happen according to a single plan. A top executive officer (e.g. you, or someone you hire to fill that role if you don't want to) seems best poised to be that person. But I don't know if my life experience gives me an accurate sense of how the world works. And I take your point that maybe what is best for one organization to achieve its goals is different than what's best for another organization to achieve its goals.
This is a cool post!
That is exciting re: COPW v. NNPC (2019) 5 NWLR (PT. 1666) 518.
And I LOVE this: "Provision for public interest litigation in new laws to grant proper standing to animal advocates/organizations and interested persons to institute actions in court where government agencies fail to act in the interest of animals."