From McQueen v. Baskin, decided by the Florida Court of Appeal (Judge Matthew Lucas, joined by Judges Darryl Casanueva and Susan Rothstein-Youakim):
A sanctuary for lions and tigers, the unexplained disappearance of one of its owners, and competing allegations of embezzlement, double-dealing, and betrayal have spawned a defamation lawsuit….
In the 1990s Carole Baskin and her then-husband "Don" Lewis operated Wildlife on EasyStreet, a big cat sanctuary, an enterprise which would later become known as Big Cat Rescue. Anne McQueen was employed as Mr. Lewis' personal assistant.
In August 1997, Mr. Lewis disappeared. His whereabouts, or whether he is still alive, remains unknown to this day.
Not long after Mr. Lewis' disappearance, one of his daughters filed a conservatorship petition in the Hillsborough County Circuit Court. In that petition Mr. Lewis' daughter sought to appoint Ms. McQueen as a conservator of Mr. Lewis' property. Disputes arose during the course of the conservatorship proceedings. Ms. Baskin alleged that Ms. McQueen "improperly transferred real property, mortgages, and tax certificates." For her part, Ms. McQueen filed a petition for an injunction.
